We Open at the Close
by PetraAmia
Summary: The end of the second wizarding war brings about new changes. previously: When wars End I am a US English speaker and my Beta is a UK English speaker
1. Life After War

**Authors Note:**

 ** _I posed this story a while a go and lost my muse, fortunately I recently found it in the form off my wonderful partner and Beta reader. I have been able to go back through the story, flesh it out, breathe life into it and continue it. The chapters will be a bit shorter than you are used to from me, but they are much more up to my current standards._**

 ** _As with all of my FF, I do not own these characters, that Honor goes to JK._**

For those that surveyed the damage after the war, it was easy to see just how much of it there was. It could be felt everywhere. It took the Ministry months to sort things out, to plug up leaks, and to take stock of just what had been done. It took much longer to rebuild Hogwarts and all those protective wards. The school was closed for a whole year, with the promise of reopening once things were settled. Those that went to help the new Headmaster sort things out, knew just how extensive things were. Corridors were demolished, the ceiling in the great hall had caved in, and some of the staircases were missing. Classrooms took forever to make right, and let us not forget the library.

For those of age to have graduated the year of the Fall of Voldemort or that year after, when Hogwarts was closed, had two options. They could return to the school and finish out things as normal, or well, as normal as they could be now. The second option, was to do correspondence classes, via owl, and train within the ministry. Of course, there were a few exceptions, Harry Potter, for instance, gained immediate employment within the auror's office as a trainee. Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom were snatched up as well. Ginevra Weasley ended up going to an open skies tournament and was scouted by the Holyhead Harpies, and was in training to become a professional Quidditch player. Luna Lovegood started working for her father's paper, but still signed on to do the correspondence courses. Many names from those years decided to take the courses, even if gainfully employed.

Hermione Granger had decided that she wanted the courses, but she couldn't go back to the school, not after the battle that had taken place there. She too was offered a job straight into the ministry, but she declined. There were too many things she wanted to do first. Hermione had always thought very highly of education, and she knew that if she wanted to get anywhere within the wizarding world, she had to know as much as she could. She was muggleborn after all, and she was not born into this mystical world. Always thirsting for more, she had latched onto ideas and poured over books, wanting to know everything!

She was there, with her nose in a book, scouring the page looking for a solution to a problem. Her legs ache from sitting crossed on her bed and holding the heavy tome. The sweat pants she wore had seen better days, but they were comfortable, just like Harry's old long sleeved grey shirt he was going to pitch a few weeks ago that she kept. Harry was walking around in the room down the hall, gathering things for his day, she supposed. He was to go to the Weasley's for dinner, with his new work schedule it was difficult, but he always managed to spare a few nights during the week to visit with them. Which was all well and good, in Hermione's opinion. Harry and Ginny were a couple, and now with them both working they both had to collaborate around the other's schedule.

"Hermione, I'm off. Are you sure you don't want to go?" She heard him on the other side of the door and she stood, stretching her back, and twisting her neck. Placing her marker in her book, she set it down and walked over to the door.

"I am sure Harry." He frowned, of course he did. Hermione wished that she wanted to go, almost. Things were still to awkward for her there.

"Mrs. Weasley would love to have you, you know. She misses you," He smiled cheekily. "She says so every time I show up without you. Really puts Ginny out." Hermione did laugh then, "Why don't you come?"

"You know why Harry... besides, I have that interview at the ministry later. I don't want to be late." She took in his attire and almost wanted to laugh. "A suit Harry? I didn't think that there was such a thing as a formal Weasley dinner."

Harry flushed, "I have somewhere to stop before I head to the burrow, I have to look nice I guess." He shrugged and ruffled a hand through his hair, "I know you have the ministry thing Hermione. Just... think about what I said. You are always welcome at the burrow."

"I know, give them my love, and let Mrs. Weasley know that I will send her an owl. Go, I know you want to see Gin." She laughed and hugged him and watched him reach for the pot of powder, "and stop ruffling your hair, you look like you just rolled out of bed!"

Harry smiled widely and vanished into the fireplace. Hermione stood there staring at the floor of the fireplace for a good few moments, and then turned her eyes about the room. It was one of the few places in Grimmauld place that Harry had not worked on yet. Shortly after the final battle, Harry had thrown himself into the house, doing a lot of work by hand, molding the place into a home. It started with Sirius. The room that once housed the marauder now was fit for a Gryffindor king. A rich burgundy ran across the walls, gold trim drew attention to the high ceilings, and gleaming yet worn wooden floors felt warm and inviting. The posters that remained stuck to the walls, now fit in with a few Harry had put up, and some pictures of the order. Harry used this as a game room of sorts, a fine fit. A large console television sat on the floor, some bean bags in front of it, and an odd looking box sat on top of the television. A Playstation, if Hermione remembered correctly. Harry would disappear into the that room after a rough day at work to wind down, and she could hear the sounds from the telly from across the hall.

Regulus' room however, Harry kept Silver and Green, sticking to the Slytherin tradition. She often wondered about that, but Harry had set her straight one day:

"' _Mione, why would I change the colors? Regulus was a Slytherin, I would never take down his colors." He wiped his brow after scrubbing the thick layer of dust off the floor. "I'm going to repaint it though, I want it fresh, the emerald lost its sheen." He laughed at her scrunched face. " Despite being a Slytherin, he wasn't a bad person Hermione. People can indeed change. He decided to go against Voldemort. He tried to thwart him, and in so deceived the darkest wizard to try and redeem himself. Why would I not honor his memory?"_

" _But it's so…. green" She looked so put out._

" _Green is a smashing color 'Mione. It would look brilliant on you. Maybe this should be your room for when you stay. After all were you not the one pushing for Magical cooperation. House unity would go a long way."_

She smiled as she thought about it, and in fact she did sleep there in the slytherin colored room, strangely comforted by the color now. Instead of sneering Slytherins, she thought of rich greens of the forest, the smell of pine and moss, and the comforting texture of velvet. One wall had dark wooden bookshelves teeming with her endless supply of books. One wall housed the four poster bed draped in emerald velvet, with cool silver sheets and a emerald down quilt. The back wall housed a large desk with a small brewing station and an interesting storage closet that seemed quite small on the outside, but she had charmed to be quite a bit larger on the inside for her potions making. Her trunk sat at there beside the desk filled with all her cloaks and school clothes. She had a perch near the window for the owl she recently purchased for school. Crookshanks languished in the corner on the arm of a high back chair.

Moving in with Harry had not been on her mind after the war. Once the battle was done and the dead were taken into account, she went into what she would call shell shock. It was over, finally over. There was no more reason for her to fear for her life, or those of her friends, at the hands of the Death Eaters. She could breathe. Of course, this is when the nightmares kicked in. At first it was just that night at Malfoy manor, hearing the cackling of the deranged witch and the sting of the blade across her skin. Slowly it morphed into other things, the look on the faces of the dead, soulless eyes staring back at her. No one had known how to help her, not really, and she wanted to disappear. It was not in the cards for her, why would it be? Hermione Granger, war heroine, why would she need peace? Harry had felt similarly, he wanted out of the limelight. Ronald on the other hand...

Hermione blew out a breath that rattled the bangs on her forehead. Ronald was another story all on it's own. He wanted the fame and fortune that came with being a war hero. He went on interviews and sat for pictures, even played in charity quidditch games (which is all well and good, you know the charity part). It wasn't just the press though, Ronald let it go to his head. He wanted the fame and everything that came with it. Not just riches, but women too. Hermione had clung, _not desperately_ (most definitely desperately), to the belief that her and Ron were going to become a couple after the war. However Ron had never formally asked her to be anything to him, and he flitted from one skirt to another, and well, she got tired of it. She had once lived at the burrow, there with the people she considered a family, until Ron had brought home one of his conquests and she just left. Mrs Weasley had never known the reason, of course, Ron was somehow able to hide the woman from his mother, but the damage was done to Hermione.

Hermione ran her hand up the banister of the staircase as she wandered back to the second floor, to her room. It felt like an eternity since she had moved in here, but it was only a few months. Harry had been more than gracious letting her stay, but she knew that she wanted to get out on her own soon. Relying on friends was only something you did for so long, to be strong you had to branch out on your own sometime. It was getting close to that for her. Harry was like the brother she always wanted. He supported her endlessly, especially that first year after the battle. When she came back from Australia, broken hearted, he was there. Harry didn't know of course, it was safer for everyone involved during the war to just not know what Hermione had to do, to keep her parents safe.

Leaning over her bed, she grabbed the book she was reading before returning down to the first floor and heading into the kitchen. Kreacher was scrubbing the pots from this morning's around him, she grabbed for the orange juice in the fridge. She poured a glass, grabbed a muffin, and carefully opened her book to continue her reading. When her muffin was gone, she looked up at the now empty kitchen. Kreacher talking to himself as he cleaned up into the upstairs hall, the noises could be heard from where she was. Closing her book and checking the time, she was still well ahead of schedule.

Stretching once again, she stood and placed her glass in the sink before leaning against it and staring out the clean window into the garden. It was still quite overgrown, and she and harry hadn't quite managed to tame it. She smiled remembering: _Harry covered in dirt, on his hands and knees with plants towering over him. Disgruntled and hot, the sun had been baking on the poor boy, and she was quite certain he had lost his mind. "What are you doing Harry?"_

" _Baking a cake Hermione." He looked at her over the top of his glasses and wiped at his brow with the back of his gloved covered hand. Dirt now smeared there, he paused, then tossed his head back with a chuckle. "Sorry, Gin and I had a wonderful row. Instead of being a bloody fool and yelling I came back here to do something else, anything else. I stood there at the sink," He motioned to the window, "and I thought, that is one bloody awful garden. So I came out here to try and weed it out a bit."_

" _How long have you been out here Harry?" She looked up at the sun, and then back down to her friend on the ground._

" _I dunno, a few hours." He breathed out a deep puff of air, "am I an idiot?"_

" _That is a loaded question Harry." Hermione laughed, and he stood on shaky legs and walked over to the porch nearly tossing himself on the wooden step. "Would you like to talk about it?"_

" _Gin doesn't want me to be an auror. Thinks it's too dangerous. She wants me to do something else, anything else practically... I think when I broke thing off with her before the battle... I think she is still stuck on that sometimes." He pulled off his dirty gloves and tossed them down beside him, running a hand through his hair. "I wanted her safe, I needed to protect her, he was INSIDE my head Hermione. The only way to protect her was to keep her as far away from me as I could. I knew it was a stupid line of thinking, she was going to be loyal to me no matter what I did. She doesn't want me to leave her again."_

 _Hermione didn't say a word, she knew what Harry had felt. The guilt of keeping Ginny away during the war was the same guilt she felt at getting her own parents out of this crazy mess. "Do you think I have a crazy need to prove myself?" Hermione sat down beside him and gave him a funny look. "The sorting hat thought so. Said I had a thirst to prove myself..."_

" _Tom Riddle had that thirst Harry. He was in your head remember? That want for power, that was Tom. You never wanted the notoriety, you wanted to be just Harry." Hermione responded automatically, "Harry, you want to do good in this world, you want to protect all the things that you worked so hard for, that is not the need to prove yourself."_

" _Thanks Hermione." It was silent in the garden except for the sounds of animals. "Do you think I am nutters for joining the aurors then?"_

" _No Harry, I would not think any less of you if you chose some other profession." She smiled at him, "Just do something you love Harry. If it feels like the right fit, and if it doesn't always feel like work, you have found the job for you." She looked out over the mess that was the back garden. "You know, perhaps you should talk to Neville. He might be able to give you a hand with this mess." Harry's chuckle echoed off the walls of the neighbors house._

Hermione shook her head with a smile as she reached for the book. Harry had gotten a hold of Neville, actually, he had come over, just the other day and quickly assessed the was a map of what Neville wanted to do stuck to the back door, as well as a list of plants that Harry was supposed to procure this week. Neville wanted to start on one side of the garden and work to the other, he had proposed working in plants for each of Harry's fallen loved ones as a way of remembrance. Harry had originally balked at the idea, but slowly had warmed up to it. Perhaps as more of a way of closure. No plants had yet to be selected, but she had worked with Neville and asked that a small water feature be put in, one where Harry could have some water lilies growing and small fish in a pond.

There was still a lot of time before her appointment at the ministry, so it was time to pamper herself a she was in her room, her book stacked neatly on her bedside table, she collected her clothes. Something professional, nothing like the things she wore in school, nothing as practical as what she wore on the run. Pulling out clothes from the wardrobe and looking, she wondered if she even had anything that would look the way she wanted. That is of course when her eyes landed on a dress stashed way in the back. Her mother had bought it for her the spring before her 7th year was to was shorter than Hermione would have liked, above the knee, which made her wonder what her mother had in mind for it. It was forest green in color, something younger Hermione would have balked at, and of course it was form fitting in all the appropriate feminine fingers touched the fabric, and she moved it to the side, that was too much for an interview...

Her fingers brushed against something cool, and Hermione brought it into view. It was a soft brown sheath of a dress with half cap sleeves. _This would work nicely,_ she thought as she laid it out on her bed. Sheer stockings and a garter belt followed that onto the bed before she looked at her array of shoes. There were quite a few pair there, most of them black. She frowned before finding a comfortable pair and looking them over, they wouldn't do in their current color, but perhaps a quick color change charm and it would do the trick. She set them to the side and walked over to her jewelry box. There weren't many things in there, but she had these beautiful cream colored earrings and a matching long necklace that she could wear. Those were set out on her dresser, and she pulled out a few bangles that Ginny had picked out for her in muggle London. They were silver, cream, and forest green. A slim belt in the same green color, and a bag completed her outfit. She transfigured the bag and the shoes to be of that same forest green color, and padded to the bathroom.

After a long, luxurious soak in the tub, Hermione took to her dental hygiene, and then began to dress. As she donned the dress and the stockings, she pondered the conundrum that was her hair. She was never one for vanity, but she was aware of how hard she had to work to maintain the mop of hair on her head. Eventually, seeking a better solution, she had gone to Flourish and Blotts and picked up a few books on hair charms. She remembered the disastrous things that happened to her hair when she lived in the Gryffindor girls dormitory, she did not want a repeat. Some simple spells did the trick, allowing her to dry her hair, and twist some of it into an elegant knot on the back of her head. Some tendrils of hair fell about her face, but her jewelry was on prominent display. Satisfied with her hair, she applied a light layer of makeup. Nothing too abrupt, some soft green eye shadow, a bit of liner and mascara, a hint of rose lip gloss. Soft and subtle.

The shoes and bag she had prepared sat at the foot of her bed and she summoned her traveling cloak and set it neatly there as well. Hermione looked about her room and saw her owl Golleth had returned.A quick glance at her clock assured her that she had time, so she sat at her desk to write to Mrs Weasley. There were so many things that could be said to the matriarch of the Weasley clan, yet when looking at a blank piece of parchment the words were hard to conjure.

 _Mrs Weasley,_ Hermione finally wrote out, _I know that I have continued to turn down your offers for dinner at the burrow. I also know that I left quite abruptly, and you were concerned about it. I am doing quite fine, I assure you. Harry has been a wonderful host, of course he isn't home half the time. I have an interview today at the ministry for continuing my schooling and perhaps selecting a career path._ Hermione grimaced, it shouldn't be this hard to write a letter. _Perhaps when things settle a bit more for me I could come over and we could have tea? I have missed Sunday brunches. I hope the lot behaves for you today, and I hope to see you soon!_

 _Thanks,_

 _Hermione_

She wanted to roll her eyes at herself, but she folded the parchment, sealed it with a bit of wax, and attached it to Golleth. "Molly Weasley please" She murmured to her beautiful snowy owl. It affectionately nipped at her finger and rubbed her head against her palm before floating out the window. Hermione sighed and gathered the items off the end of the bed before descending the stairs. Slipping into her shoes, she summoned a suit jacket of the same color from her room and slid it on. The cloak and bag were the last things she attached before dashing the floo powder into the fireplace and stepping into the entry of the ministry.


	2. The Ministry For Magic

**Authors Note:**

 _ **This was previously written as**_ _ **When Wars End**_ _ **. When I went back and did so much editing I wanted a name change for the fresh face.**_

 _ **Thank you to Samantha-Chelsea & hellspawn1990 for their review/ messages and words of encouragement! **_

_**As always, I do not own anything HP related.**_

Righting herself and brushing off the dust from the floo, Hermione glanced around. Things had changed quite a bit since her last adventure here. The walls were not as black and cold, they were a silver in color, shining light where there was none. The gruesome statue that stood in the center pool was no longer there, instead stood a dark silhouette of a tree with thousands of silver lights sitting on it. Upon closer inspection, the lights are actually names, names of all those who were lost in the war. As the branches of the tree move, so to do the names creating the light effect. "It is quite a work of art is it not?" A deep rumbling voice broke her from her gazing.

Quickly, Hermione turned and looked in the direction that the voice came from. "M..Minister! I did not see you there." she replied rather lamely.

"Quite alright Ms. Granger." The dark skinned man smiled brightly at her, "All I asked was it's quite a work of art, is it not?" Hermione looked back to the tree, "It was a was a gift, a way of trying to make amends I think." He looked up thoughtfully at the tree and nodded to a few names that seemed different from the others, "the lights change colors subtly for house color. Even the muggles are represented, here at the bottom of the tree in the roots. How all the names were found is a bit beyond me, however I appreciate the sentiment."

"A gift, Minister?" Hermione asked after a thorough look at the tree. She did note the names on the bottom and trunk of the tree finally. Her gaze swung back to the minister who nodded.

"Ah, yes." he stared a slow walk around the tree, "The war ended some months ago,as you know," he smiled then, "this was crafted by a Death Eater, a way of repentance perhaps? I was quite astounded to see such beauty myself when he brought me the pictures and the concept. I guess it goes to show that there are things on both sides of the war that may have been tarnished just for war's sake." He sighed and looked thoughtfully on a few names, "the light turned children into warriors just as much as the darkness." His look was solemn, "Now that there is a time of peace will we be able to have redemption?" The minister looked over the tree once more and then back to Hermione.

"Young Mr Potter has been speaking to me about such things, redemption that is. I have been thinking heavily on it." His grave sounding voice made her look over to him. "There are things that even a man in power of a government has little control over, and one of those is public opinion." She nodded slowly, thinking about some articles she had seen in the Prophet. "It seems that we may have been able to snuff out one prejudice only to replace it with another," The Minister sighed, "we have a long road ahead of us." Hermione nodded and watched the subtle emotions dance across Kingsley's face. We fought hard for peace, for equality, and now we are back to the beginning, only on the opposite side of the galleon. Of Course, the Wizengamot is not helping me."

"What do you mean minister, exactly?" Hermione had a good idea, she wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing. She did however, want to hear it from Kingsley.

Kingsley took a breath and looked out over the atrium,"We fought to show how precious magical blood is, all of it. We fought to eliminate blood purity, for peace and prosperity of our kind!" He sucked in a breath and hung his head, "and yet now we are attacking those that once clung tightly to those outdated beliefs. Not every pureblood witch or wizard felt the maina, many tried to remain neutral. That does not seem to matter in the court of popular opinion." His eyes looked over atrium sadly, "the day this was brought in, the man who created it was so thrilled that I had chosen this to replace the dreadful statue from before. There was such pride in his eyes, and yet he was attacked moments after placing it here."

"No!" Hermione's sharp intake of breath seemed to ricochet around the room.

"Sadly, yes." The Minister looked over Hermione, "There was never anything put in the papers about there being a new statue, the new modifications to the Ministry, or word of the attacks. We have had to silence everything we are doing here to make things better because of the stigma attached to this statue." He limply lifted his hand, "All because the man who gifted it to us came from a family with a known Death Eater in their midst. He never took the mark, but his father was very much in Voldemort's pockets. His family had to go into hiding after the war, and now he cannot go out in public without ridicule, he cannot sell his works because his shop and gallery are being vandalized... We did not fight for this. I did not lose friends, people I cared about so that we could all shift drastically the other way."

"Nor did I Minister." Hermione said suddenly, "There has to be a way to fix this, there must. People need to see that we can't do this, we need to be united as a people not this! Hatred and anger breeds war, that is how we got into this mess in the first place!" Her hair began to crackle with magic, "The blood purists were so blinded by their feelings on purity that they were easily manipulated by someone with an agenda that was not even pure by their standards."

"What do you suggest?" Kingsley watched the amazing witch before him and the magic that floated in the air.

"First, I will need to talk to Harry and a few other people, we are going to need to reach out every one enmasse." Hermione was pacing back and forth, "a press conference of some kind? A large meeting, we need to get to everyone the correct way." She paused in her thinking to level a look at the minister, "as much as I am loathe to get into politics, we are going to need to swing that in our favor. I need the most updated codex of wizard law, I need to see which loopholes they are going to try and throw at me."

"That will not be a problem, I can have someone collect that for you, as well as a few other books you may need. Do you remember a Theodore Nott?" Hermione shook her head slowly, "He was a Slytherin, same year as you. He is one of the people who had a family member as a death eater but never became one himself. He has taken up with our law offices as one of the ministry training programs." Hermione tilted her head as the minister continued, "He is... well he has been raised to become a formidable man within the court system, his family has a few law offices and it was no surprise really that he asked to be considered for that particular position. However," Kingsley's tone changed, "he is currently being harassed by his department. I may partner him with you on this endeavor, he knows a lot more about wizarding law than I, and he would know more about the loopholes than anyone in that office. He also would have a vested interest in the outcome, so he could help steer the conversation in the right direction with the right people."

"I have no objections to that Minister, that is a wonderful idea actually." Hermione's brain went into planning mode thinking of all the people she would need to reach out to, "Minister, I wasn't aware that the training programs were opened up so early."

"Ah, well we opened a few up to those like Mr Nott, who needed a place to get back on their feet due to the tensions out in the public eye. When we realized how popular they were becoming we re evaluated the programs and saw merit into opening them up to the general public of Hogwarts and the rest of those affected by the war. In fact, it was Mr Nott who suggested we open it up to everyone who was unable to complete their education." Kingsley smiled, "education in our world is vital."when Hermione nodded he smiled again, "I suspect that is why you are here? One of the training programs?" When she nodded again he continued, "Very good, which department were you thinking of training in?"

"To be honest Minister, I wasn't sure exactly what departments would be available." She shrugged, "once I know my options I will be able to figure that out."

"That will all be covered during the interview process I presume." He smiled kindly as he led her down a hall and into a large waiting room. "Sheila Monroe and Roan Macroy are going to be in charge of the interviews and overseeing the entire process. I have the utmost faith in both of them." He looked about the room and chose a chair gesturing for her to follow his example. "You know, your generation thrived in a time of great diversity. Many brilliant minds were lost in such a short time. It's rather disheartening to see that we may lose quite a few more."

"What do you mean minister? Has this hostility caused deaths?" Her voice had gone up an octave in alarm.

"As far as I am aware no. What I mean to say, is that vast amounts of records were lost." He gestured to Hermione, "when you were eleven, you were sent a letter informing you that you were a witch. We have records, had, of all our muggle born witches and wizards. Records that were destroyed," his shoulders sagged in defeat. "It took us ages to sort out the inner workings of the ministry after Voldemort's defeat. Even when he died there were still plenty of overly biased people within the inner cogs of the ministry that halted examination of records. Once we released those individuals and started to bulk up the staff in the appropriate areas it became grossly apparent what had been done. Those that showed up on those records were hunted down, and many of them lost. I know that there are more children out there, but they will never learn about the magical world!"

"What if there is a way? What if we could find them?" Hermione's brain sorted through hundreds of books in her head trying to find a solution. "Better yet Minister…. what if they could find us?"

"What are you suggesting Ms Granger?" A sparkle of wonder and laughter echoed in his eyes.

"What if we had places, in or around greater muggle areas that can only be seen by someone with magical abilities. Kind of like the leaky cauldron? Gear it more to children, toy shops perhaps. They young ones can steer their parents into the store and if they can open the door they can be registered for a school? Kind of like "The sword in the stone" but a little twist? It would still hold with the statute of secrecy, but also help us find the lost children."

He nodded slowly letting the idea sink in. " What are we to do with them if they aren't 11. That is when normal wizard schooling takes place." He asked himself almost too quiet for her to catch but she did.

Thinking for a moment, "what if we had a school for them? For students under 11 to teach them both muggle and a bit of magical studies? History of magic and some basic things to help them contain the random bouts of magic that are sure to pop up? Things they wouldn't need wands for, of course, save that for when they are 11. However, they should be able to learn history and of course their maths and english like any muggle. It could help us integrate a bit, having muggle borns and the rest of the wizarding youngsters all in one school universal magical cooperation." Her voice trailed off a bit at the end. "If they are over 11 which is when we normally start school we could use the same buildings to introduce magic and get them caught up? I mean really, what would the difference be?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt, minister of magic, sat and stared at the young woman at his watched as she searched her brain for an answer to a question many wizards have been asking. She earned the title of "Brightest witch of her age" each and every moment. "What kind of school are you suggesting? "

"I would say almost like a muggle primary school. For the muggle born students we can label it more of a boarding school if need be and can be like Hogwarts for the muggle students who would have too far of a commute. Weekends can be free of classes used to mingle and get more involved with the magical world for the muggles and time to interact with the muggle world for the wizards." She thought long and hard "To be honest minister this would help your problem…. however there is an issue with location, price, and the people needed to accomplish such a task. However good in theory the idea is there is quite a bit of work to accomplish before it could even be put into place."

Kingsley nodded silently and looked up at the ceiling which was charmed to look like the night sky. "You know, I do believe that we need more bright minds like you here at the ministry. I know that there are a few places we could use a fresh set of eyes. This…. topic has been on my brain since I took over here and the realization at the loss of the children that were born into our world from that of the world of muggles….. it pained me greatly. Knowledge is a great power and I believe that every child should have access to it." He took a breath and turned to Hermione. "I believe with ideas like this very one you gave me we could help quite a few children. Not just those with outstanding magical abilities, but perhaps we can help those who don't. Perhaps we can take this idea and also create a school that would cater to those children of magical families that do not show magical abilities?"

"Oh! That would be brilliant! Perhaps then everyone could have a little peace! If everyone was given the opportunity to have an education then…. why then the world would be slightly more enlightened and perhaps the bias that we have faced in the past could very well disappear!" She scooted forward in her seat and leaned into the minister conspiratorially. "of course this just leads the way for fresh bias, but in all honesty we are never going to fully dissuade people of their bias, but perhaps if they are taught that it is the differences we have that make us unique…."

"Quite right Ms. Granger. I dare say that you have ideas far beyond your years. I congratulate you, and welcome you to the Ministry of Magic. I will owl you with a list of places I would like to train you, if that is quite alright. For now our correspondence shall be brief and in the the way of letters until I can get enough hands on board for the project I have in mind." He stood and extended a hand to her. "I believe that with ideas like these, there is much good your generation can do for the world."

Hermione shook his hand and stared after the minister in disbelief as he exited the room. She was left alone with her thoughts, ' _Was…. was that my interview. With the minister of Magic! Merlin's beard!'_ She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes to take a deep breath. Knowing Kingsley from the Order and meeting him as Minister for Magic is two vastly different experiences.

"Well he is a death eater, why shouldn't he get what he deserves." A muffled male voice came from outside the doorway. "His family has been on a pureblood tirade for far too long, it's about time that they got what was coming to them." Hermione could hear the words, and she pulled her head away from the wall to crane close to the doorway.

"But he is just a boy, Alfonso! Surely they won't be as harsh towards him," A slight female voice answered. A male scoff counded off after these words, " **If** the rumors are true that he turned his back on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, then they have nothing on him," the female retorted hotly. Hermione's curiosity peaked and she stepped closer to the door.

"Nonsense. He housed him Lenora," The man scoffed. "That bloody lunatic stayed in their home, how could he have turned his back on him?" Hermione instantly realized who it was they were talking about, Draco Malfoy.

"He was just a boy! His father was in Azkaban, he and his mother were overrun." The woman cut in with venom in her voice. "His father attacked Harry Potter and his friends right here in the ministry and was thrown in Azkaban! He was away at school and Lucius was in prison what was one woman and a handful of elves to do against that madman! "

"Bollocks, I don't believe that for a moment. He is in it as thick as his old man. The whole lot of them thick as thieves. Up to their necks I tell you. Death eaters through and through. Why the number of dark artifacts that are lurking in that house…." She could hear the man stomp his foot and ruffle some kind of fabric.

"Allegedly Alfonso, if we were being frank there was nothing actually belonging to the Malfoy's that was deemed a dark artifact. The only item found that had even a hint of dark magic was located in the sealed rooms of Bellatrix LeStrange. Do not seek out lies where there is truth." the woman answered him, with a click of her tongue. "That boy and his mother were forced to endure much, of that I am certain. It was his father's loyalty that got them in the trouble, not the boy." The woman's tone softened there at the end. This woman was a mother. "Furthermore Fudge and his smear campaign had people believing that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wasn't back and that Harry and Dumbledore were crackpots. That was the year we found out about Fudge and his lies."

"He did nothing to help the cause?" The man sneered, "what do you call what he did at Hogwarts then? Letting Death Eaters into the castle?"

"He did what he was forced to do at Hogwarts, of that I am sure." Her tone biting, Hermione wished she could see the woman's face, "However when it came down to it he could not Kill anyone. He felt remorse when people got hurt, he feels remorse now!" The man scoffed at this, "Did you see that sculpture in our lobby? Where did you think it came from? That child is repentant and he does not deserve a prison sentence."

"He doesn't deserve our pity Lenora…" More ruffling of cloth followed by the man's sigh.

"No, he doesn't deserve pity, but he doesn't deserve hate. The more you breed that hate Alfonso, the more you become like those death eaters." The cold tone and stark words sent shivers down Hermione's spine. "The only thing they did was spread hate for anyone who wasn't pure of blood. You are spreading the opposite!" Sharp clicks of heels on stone alerted Hermione that the woman was leaving the man in the hall.

"Why I never….. Lenora! Come back!" The voices carried down the hall. Hermione stood still as a statue against the wall and blinked. ' _They were going to try and put him in Azkaban? Draco may have been a complete arse to her in his early years, but surely he didn't deserve Azkaban!'_

Slowly she peeled herself off the wall and peeked her head out the seeing no one, she inched out into the dark hall and tried to remember her way back. She wandered the darkened halls as her brain whirled, there was so much to think about. Her mind was a mix of thoughts when she ran headlong into someone. A slight electric shock went through her body, causing her to drop her bag sending paperwork everywhere.

She thought she heard someone say "Steady there, " in a breathless male timbre but she was so focused on her paperwork she didn't register that voice. "Oh! I am so sorry, I didn't see... ." She mumbled as she hunkered down, on shaky legs to collect her paperwork. Not noticing the absolute silence that followed.

A male throat cleared itself and she glanced up sharply at the face of the person she bumped into, "it's alright Granger." The voice was gravely and didn't sound at all like the one she remembered from school, "it happens." There was Draco Malfoy bent at the waist and helping to collect some of her fallen papers. Hermione stared at him, "I wouldn't head down this way though. You shouldn't be near the Death Eaters." Her gaze connected sharply with his and he could see the question in her eyes, "they are holding court today for my father and a few others." He motioned behind him to the darkened hall that seemed suddenly full of black robes.

"I've wandered into the department of mysteries yet again." She murmured, and then realized that the Wizengamot was entering the chamber. The words he said ran through her head as she thought about that conversation from moments before. "They are holding court for…. do you have a trial?" She stood and started to place the papers into her bag.

"No, not yet anyway," this was said with a shrug of his elegant shoulders."My mother and I get a slight reprieve before we are thrust into our own courtroom debacle." His smile was brief and not cleared his throat with a grimace, "what brings you to the department of mysteries Granger?"

For a moment her mind blanked. She was looking up at someone who she had grown up with, whom she had disliked or a very long time, but somehow it seemed as though she was looking at him with new eyes. She could see all the strain from the war, all the worry in his eyes. Although his suit was pressed, it looked well worn, not quite the way she remembered Malfoy. He looked pale and wan, almost sickly. Thinking back to her 6th year, she remembered a very similar look gracing his features. It looked almost as if a stiff breeze could knock him over. Looking him over, she straightened her shoulders and spoke, "I came to offer my assistance on your case." As the words came out of her mouth they felt right, but she was still surprised that she said them. "I heard that your father was having his court date and hoped to see you or your mother to offer my support."

Shock briefly crossed his features before he smothered the emotion. He looked down at his hands seemingly to realize that he still had some paper that Hermione had dropped. "Why… Why would you… help us?" His voice got caught in his throat at first, and then he cleared it and held out her paperwork. He watched her with a puzzled expression as she smiled and put her papers into her bag, "after what happened at the manor." The voice was small, tentative,shy almost. _He really was repentant._

Hermione licked her dry lips and took a breath, "Draco, I know what you did to help us."She reached out instinctively to place a hand on his shoulder, "I know that you tried to say that it wasn't us." That sizzle went up her arm again, but she didn't move it. Wanting to reassure him she squeezed lightly, "you didn't attack us in the Room of Requirement, that was Crabbe. I know that your mother lied to Voldemort because she knew you were safe. I know you were the one to help Harry in the end." She looked at him from under her lashes, what she really wanted was to caress his jaw. Shaking off that notion she added, "you aren't as awful as I once thought. You deserve to show the rest of the wizarding world that as well."

Draco stood and stared at her for a moment he looked almost frozen in time. A look of wonderment skimmed his features before it was quickly slid under the protective blank slate that Hermione recognised. She found herself putting on one much the same when Ron's name was mentioned. "I appreciate the offer Hermione, but you do not have to defend my family after what we have done." His hand gently grabbed hers and removed it from his shoulder, "after what happened in the manor…." That soft, breathless voice was back. He shook his head, "how could you even think we are good people."

"Draco," Draco had closed his eyes, but she grabbed their clasped hands with her free hand. "We were kids thrust into war." When he didn't open his eyes, she raised it to touch his cheek, "You were not the one who tortured me." She smiled softly, "you did what you could under the circumstances. You never harmed anyone."

"I hurt people in school in 6th year. I could have killed…." Draco seemed to choke on his words and he clung to her hand.

"But you didn't." She squeezed his hand lightly and tilted his face to look up at her. There was some emotion that she couldn't place shining in his eyes, they almost seem to be changing color but she never broke the eye contact. "You may not have been the best," her smile caused a watery chuckle from him, "but in the end you did the right thing and you deserve the chance to live you life that way. You switched sides and you helped." There was a determination in her voice that she hadn't felt in a long time.

His lips parted as though he was going to say something but he never got the chance. "Ms. Granger, we meet again." Kingsley smiled as he spotted the pair. Hermione and Draco stepped apart slightly and she dropped the hand that was on his face, but not the one holding his. "Mr. Malfoy, I was unaware that you were coming to this hearing, but I am glad I ran into you." His large hand was placed on Draco's shoulder, "I am not sure if you were aware of the programme that Professor McGonagall has put together for the students who were unable to take their N.E.W.T.s last year. I do hope to see you name on the roster? As well as the training programme within the ministry?" Kingsley looked hopeful, and there seemed to be a sparkle in his eye as he looked at Hermione's hand in Draco's.

"...I … I was unaware of the programmes Sir." Draco needed to clear his throat again, "However, I don't believe that I will be able to attend such a programme." Draco's eyes seemed to drop to the floor, and Hermione looked between the two men. Something was happening here that she couldn't quite yet grasp.

"Nonsense!" Kingsley's voice boomed in the rapidly emptying hall, "I hope to see you name on both lists, perhaps Ms Granger, you can have Mr Malfoy's help on the project we discussed earlier?" As Kingsley swung his gaze to Hermione there seemed to be a twinkle in his eye, "I'm sure he would be a great asset to you." There was a smile sent to both of them as he looked over their heads to survey the hall, "I do believe that you will be getting some letters about some goings on here in the Ministry soon." At this his tone seemed to diminish, almost as if he was telling some sort of secret, "The Wizengamot seems to think it wise to... Enact some new laws," he got closer to the pair, "and I am hoping that we can throw in a few new programmes to handle certain issues." He inclined his head to Hermione, "I look forward to the work you both will bring to the table." With a nod he disappeared down the hall.

Draco looked at Hermione in confusion, but before he could say anything he heard a voice from down the hall, "Draco! Oh! There you are…." The panicked voice of Narcissa Malfoy made Hermione turn, and the matriarch stopped dead in the hall to stare at their hands. "Ms. Granger?" Her tone had softened from panic to something much more... motherly as she brought her gaze up to look at Hermione "I do believe that Draco has said much about you." Draco stiffened and dropped his hands to his sides making Hermione look over at him, "Very smart if I recall; bested him in many classes, even started a Defense against the dark arts group when that Umbridge woman was in control of Hogwarts." The matriarch's disdain for Umbridge was apparent, even if her face didn't show it. "A very strong and intelligent woman, we need more witches like you in the world Miss Granger." The imposing woman smiled genuinely at Hermione, then looked to her son. Here her smile faltered, "we can enter the room now." she spoke softly and straightened his robes.

Hermione fiddled with her hands at the scene before her before speaking up, "Good Luck to you both." Not wanting to intrude on the familial moment she spoke softly, "I hope things start to look up for you," Narcissa smiled at her so she continued, "I told Draco that if…. if it comes down to it I will stand with you in court."

The older witch's face changed subtly, there was a strain there. Hermione knew that this could not have been easy. "That is very gracious of you Ms Granger. I will keep that in mind." She smiled softly again and put her arm around Draco to guide him down the hall. As soon as he started moving she turned back to Hermione, "It is something that I never would have thought to ask of you, but I thank you for the offer. This has been a... rather difficult time for my son and I." Narcissa reached out her hand to her, but seemed to think better of it. "I appreciate the sentiment, thank you."

Hermione watched the witch disappear behind the door, and let the oddness of the situation wash over her. ' _He called me by my name! He's never done that. Then again I called him by his name…. Oh Merlin, I touched his face!'_ She was awakened from her musings by a clatter of footfalls and someone shouting her name. "Hermione! What are you doing down here?" She knew that male voice and cringed inwardly.

She turned to see a group of people walking towards her, and of course a shock of rich copper hair. "Percy?" Letting out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, she walked a few paces to meet him. Never very close with the older, slightly more prudish brother, she took his offered hand.

"Hermione, I thought that was you." He said with a shake, "whatever are you doing down here?" He seemed a bit flabbergasted, and then she noticed his black robes, "the trials are going on down here, you needn't be seen by the likes of _them._ " Stiffening slightly she was about to retort but he placed his arm around her shoulder and began to escort her up through the hall. "I am assuming that you had your interview today?" His tone was light and inquisitive, Molly must have asked him to come looking for her.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I spoke with the Minister,"contemplating whether or not to take him to task on his anger she agreed very nonchalantly.

"The Minister? Well, now that is interesting. I didn't know he was conducting the interviews." Percy seemed a bit put out but shook his head and continued on, "although he has taken quite a bit of interest into the inner workings here than the last few Ministers." Percy nearly beamed with pride here, reminding her of his odd obsession with Fudge, "it's to be expected I suppose after so much has happened within these halls." That anger was back again, though she felt this time it was justified. There was so much evil that happened in the halls of the Ministry during the Second Wizarding War. It was as he was guiding her to a stone bench to sit that his tone took on one of conspiracy, "have you heard?"

"Heard?" She asked as he sat down on the opposite side of the bench, "heard what?" She looked at him curiously, Percy was never one for gossip unless it was the accolades of the minister.

"I know that you haven't been around the Burrow much, not that I blame you." He added a roll of his eyes here and Hermione fought back a chuckle, "I heard what Ronald did, and I do not approve. You were much more of a catch, but to be honest Ronald is not." It was odd hearing if from Percy, he was not that tight knit as the rest of his family was during the war. Once Dumbledore and Harry tried telling people that Voldemort was back, and all that madness started Percy had shied away from the Weasley clan. He did fight alongside the order during the final battle, and in fact had a large scar on the left half of his body. "Father and I have been getting internal letters about the new programmes coming up for the students of Hogwarts…. infact anyone between the ages of 17 and 25 if I'm to be honest."

Ah, there it was. Percy was a braggart when it came to his role in the ministry, no matter what role it was, and how he was better than everyone. He liked to look down his rather pointy nose at people, "What kind of programmes exactly? KIngsley and I discussed proposing a new one not that long ago." Hermione shrugged and tried to watch the emotions crossing Percy's face.

There was curiosity, but then he looked around the mostly empty atrium before a look of concern crossed his face. "Well, how much do you know about the great witch hunts?" If she hadn't been watching his face so intently, she may have missed the words.

"Very little to be honest. What does that have to do with anything?" Curiosity was getting the better of her. Percy Weasley was a bit on the predictable side, he had his snobbish moments, and his moments of bluntness, but he never avoided the question as he seemed to be doing now. In fact, if she wasn't mistaken he wouldn't look her in the eye.

Percy slid a bit closer to her on the seat and licked his lips, bringing his head down closer to her, "You are a very smart witch Hermione. If I were in your shoes, I would start doing some research, all that you could on that period in Great Britain, and what happened as a direct result" Footsteps seemed to echo too close to him and he sat up tall looking around, "I would do so before the end of the month if I was you. You will need all the information you can get." He was whispering now, in almost fantic bursts. "I can't reveal too much before the official release of information but… that won't be until the first of next month." He looked around quickly before licking his lips and continuing on. "This war has hit our numbers hard. We lost records of muggleborns, and with so little help in trying to locate those with magical powers outside of our immediate world…. drastic measures may soon take place." He took a large gulp of air here and chanced a look around the room, "If anyone can figure it out, it would be you." He smiled lightly before getting up from the bench and glancing about. "My brother may have done many a foolish thing, but the one thing he always did was talk about you and your ability to research."

A cough and come footsteps echoed from another hall and he looked up jerkily. "Take care Hermione. I'm sure Flourish and Blotts would have the necessary texts, but perhaps owling McGonagall will have the desired effect you need?" He left quickly, leaving her baffled on the bench staring at the statue in the atrium once more.

Taking out a piece of parchment, she wrote down all the pertinent information Percy had passed onto her. There wasn't much, but to be fair she did go off on wild goose research hunts with less. She looked at the little bit of information and she wrote a short list of texts to get her started that she could pick up on her way home. Her heart was pumping again, with the thrill of waiting to discover something new. The boys never understood her thirst for knowledge. There was _so much to discover_! Not only had Percy cautioned her, but the minister himself seemed to be put off by some sort of new law. Today had been a day that Hermione was not expecting. From meeting the Minister of magic, to bumping into Draco and his mother, and now Percy? _Oh no! I did it again! I called him Draco!_ Her brain seemed stuck there in that moment when he called her Hermione. It sounded so different coming from his lips. _His lips, they were quite soft looking weren't they? And when did he get so tall?_ Shaking her head from those thoughts, she stood and made her way over to the floos, she just had to stop at Flourish & Blotts.


	3. The Trial of Lucius Malfoy

**Authors Note:**

 _ **I know, I know, don't yell at me. Yes I revisited this story, and yes I may have changed some things, I HAD TO. I lost my muse for writing for a while when I hit this wall and I have recently picked it back up, (stress I think) and have been seeing that even though I went back and edited, there were still some things I didn't like and did not seem to make sense. I have a wonderful Beta reader now, and he has been amazing in helping me fix the gaps. Also, I am a native English speaker but from America. My Beta is from the UK and he helps me fix snafus in my writing. There seem to be a lot of things we say here in the US that the blokes in the UK don't understand... ANY WAY... ONWARD**_

 _ **As always I DO NOT own anything HP related, I just borrowed it, and may have cuddled it a while after the seventh book... It is not exactly compliant, mostly compliant up to the final battle and the epilogue. I was not a huge fan of the epilogue.**_

Back down in the Department of Mysteries, Draco Malfoy was staring around the mostly empty courtroom. The benches where the Wizengamot normally sat were empty, as they were in chambers with the Minister, and there were very few onlookers in the courtroom. One would think that the trial of a Death Eater would be big business, and yet there were very few reporters. Truth be told, Lucius Malfoy's trial was one of the last in the long line of them, and was one of the better kept secrets he supposed. It was due to Lucius and Draco's help that a lot of the death eater trials before him even happened. Those trials had been absolute zoos, and yet the ministry was able to keep the Malfoy name's out of the papers.

Draco may have seemed very interested in the marble benches across the way, but his mind was firmly back in the hallway, where he and his mother had left Hermione Granger. _Hermione,_ his mind whispered across his senses and he had to close his eyes. When she had bumped into him, he felt like snarling at the body until he had turned. There was a peculiar smell in the air that he couldn't exactly place, but something inside of him wanted to get closer to the smell. Seeing Granger there had startled him, and he bent to help collect her papers with shame in his heart. The vision of her there on his drawing room floor was forever burnt into his mind, every time he tried to sleep. It was not the definitive factor in his lack of sleep, but it hadn't helped. Voldemort and his _punishment_ was mostly what kept him from sleep these days.

His mother stiffened beside him as the the door to the Minister's chambers opened, and it roused Draco from his musings. Letting his gaze settle about the room he noticed that he and his mother were quite alone in their part of the stands. Off to the left was the witness seats, quite a few people had occupied those seats in the last two days during the trial, and there seemed to be no one there today. It was judgment day then, when the final verdict would be reached. Mother must have come to the same conclusion and she tightened her grip on her handkerchief. To the right Draco noticed the few reporters and one camera man sit at attention as the once vacant seats started to fill with red and black cloaks. There were a few gaps in the seats, notating the houses that were left in disorder after the war.

Finally Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister for Magic, entered into the courtroom and took his place at the podium. A clearing of his throat proceeded his words and made a hush fall over the assembly. "Witches and Wizards of the Wizengamot, we are gathered here today on the Thirteenth May, the year Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-nine,for the trial of one Lucius Malfoy. For the past few days we have heard testimony of those who were intimately close with the Malfoy family, as well as witnesses for incidents that involved the accused." The ministers eyes circled the crowd as he motioned with his wand to the center of the floor. Just like the past two days a hole opened up in the center of the room and from the hole ascended the Malfoy Patriarch. The man was a mere shell of himself, his regal elegance was no more. Hair hanging limply from his scalp, looking wan and sick, clothes two sizes too large, Lucius clung to the chair he was chained to in support. Draco could feel his mother clutch at his leg, and his hand found his way to hers.

"Lucius Malfoy, has not denied that he was indeed on the wrong side of the war, part of Voldemort's inner circle, privy to the comings and goings of many, and had agreed to provide as much information as possible to help prosecute those that committed crimes." The Ministers eyes briefly touched over Draco and Narcissa before looking over at the reporters, "We thought today was going to be the verdict day, and we still believe that a verdict will be reached, however it has come to our attention that there are two more witnesses that have yet to take the stand." All eyes swiveled to the empty witness seats and then back to the Minister. "We have heard many accounts, but today we are going to be hearing two very interesting accounts. One of the witnesses has passed due to injury from the war, however his memories were maintained and we will be able to view them via pensive. The other witness has a much more peculiar look into the inner workings of Voldemort's circle and will be walking us through some of that before we decide upon a verdict." The minister paused and waited for the murmurs to die down a bit before he flicked his wand at a door near the courtroom floor.

"For those of you who don't know," Minister Shacklebolt spoke as a figure emerged onto the floor, "this witness is Harry James Potter. He has graciously agreed to testify on the behalf of the Malfoy family for any and all incidents that he may be privy." The whispers started again as Potter moved to the witness chair. The hand on his leg tightened so Draco turned to look at his mother. What is it that the boy could know that had his mother so worried? "Harry, on the chair in front of you there is a truth ward, you will be unable to lie if you choose to sit. You have agreed to this?"

"I have Sir." The-Boy-Who-Lived-Twice nodded before sitting down on the leather chair. A slight glow enveloped him for a moment before dispersing, and thus the truth ward was active. Draco looked over the boy that he had once hated. A man sat there now, not a boy, but a man stunted by war. That unruly mop of hair shagged into his eyes over the top of those spectacles that he was so known for. There was not much that Draco could see from his position, but he could tell that this was no longer the boy that he had fought with during his school years, but that of someone who had grown into himself in the most troubled of times

"Let the court reflect this," The minister nodded to the witch on the floor who was notating the court and then to Potter, "you may proceed when you are ready Mr Potter." Shacklebolt sat down at the seat behind the podium and watched the curious faces of the press and the court.

The room seemed to take a collective breath before Potter spoke, "not many people could tell you what went on in that house, better than the people that lived there." Potter did not look at any one particular member of the court, his eyes seemed to circle around. "However, I had the unique experience of being connected to Tom Riddle in a way that many people were not privy to." Harry drew in a breath and looked at each member of the court as he continued, "when his curse rebounded that night in Godric's Hollow, A piece of his soul latched itself onto the only living thing in the room. Me." An audible gasp went through the crowd and yet Potter kept talking. "Sometimes I had the unfortunate experience and ability to be inside his head and see exactly as he did. There are things that Tom Riddle did to his followers that I would not wish on my worst enemy, not to mention the horrors that he committed upon the innocent. Potter finally looked over to the Malfoy's then, "not all of his followers believed his methods. Some were afraid of him and what he could do. After all he was able to come back from the dead."

Potter paused here and took that moment to let his words sink in to all of those in the court. "Tom Riddle wanted nothing more than than everyone else. Tom grew up in an orphanage, he had no real friends, and tried to lord over those around him. Voldemort wanted a world where he was on top hand he didn't care who he hurt to accomplish his task. Stepping all over people was one of the easiest things he could do and he relished the destruction. He never wanted to be ordinary, only extraordinary." Potters eyes closed and his hand seemed to tighten on his chair, "When he recruited the Death eaters he was able to play upon their emotions, he was able to use their weakness against them. Purebloods who believed in blood supremacy were easy to manipulate to his cause."

Straightening himself in the chair he continued, "It is curious that this was the common thing that he used to recruit seeing as how Tom Riddle was not in fact a pure blood wizard." This time most of the court gasped, and his mother's grip seemed bruising. "His mother was the daughter of the house of Gaunt, and she went against her pureblood upbringing and against her father to fall in love with a muggle. This muggle, his name sake, was doused with a love potion and eventually Tom Riddle was conceived. After a time, his mother believed that his father truly loved her and stopped with the love potion, but this backfired. Tom Riddle Sr left her and she died shortly after childbirth at a muggle hospital. So in all actuality Voldemort," An involuntary shudder went through the crowd, "was a half blood."

Draco inwardly cringed and thought back to living with the Dark Lord. It was no walk in the park. There was a sense of dread each time you took a breath, and death seemed to lurk around every corner. Nagini trailed the halls in his home, hissed and snapped at ankles if you weren't paying attention, and watching Nagini eat a victim pleased Voldemort to no end. He could recall clearly the faces of each victim that he had seen devoured. The mind is a curious thing, it glosses over things that cause trauma, such as the devouring part, but clearly the faces are burned into the mind.

Sighing, Draco closed his eyes and thought back to a time before the rise of the Dark Lord. He remembered the first time he met Harry Potter and how very unpleasant he was to the boy. ' _I was a git wasn't I?'_ Second year when he wished all the Muggle born of his school to be the next victims of the creature in the chamber of secrets and his father had bought him a position on the Slytherin Quidditch team. He could have made it on Merit, he was a fantastic Chaser, but his father insisted he play Seeker as Harry did. Third year and that bloody chicken, his father running the crusade to have it killed and Professor Lupin disbarred from the school. ' _It's a bloody wonder Granger didn't punch me sooner, eh?'_ He smiled slightly at the memory, it was something he would never forget. After that moment, he had a new respect for Hermione. Which is why he tried to warn her at the Quidditch World Cup. Year four was the year of the Triwizard Tournament, and when he saw her in all her glory at Yule Ball. She was beautiful then, he couldn't say that of course, but she was such a welcome distraction.

The night of the Yule Ball was the start of the dreams. She started to invade them, and he wasn't quite sure why. Sure he had dreams about girls before but never like this. These dreams were so vivid that he could have almost believed that they were real. For a while, he thought maybe they were, but whenever he would catch her eye in classes she wouldn't acknowledge. Knowing she was under the surface of the Black Lake for that Bulgarian Buffoon was enough to make him want to punch something. He took a deep breath and let it escape through his nose before opening his eyes again. Fifth year was the year of Umbridge, no one liked her and her rules, but father wanted him to suck up to the ministry official. His father wanted him to do a lot of things that he went into blindly. When his father was sent to Azkaban...That was the beginning of the worst days of his life. The light in the courtroom seemed suddenly too bright, and he closed his eyes once again, until his mother squeezed his knee.

"Thank you Mr Potter, you have some memories for us to view?" Kingsley's voice rang out over the room.

"Yes, there are vials in here," He said lifting a small tin. "Each is labeled with the date of extraction of the memory and the person to whom it belonged. There are also some other memories that have been presented to the court as to the character of Tom Riddle, those may need to be accessed for one or two of these to make sense." The tin was levitated over to the Minister's seat.

"Very well, We will take a small adjournment while we review these, as we cannot all go on this jaunt. We will reconvene within the hour." Kingsley stood and ushered the Wizengamot through their chambers as the crowd in the courtroom dispersed. Lucius was escorted out of the room and then Harry left the witness stand. Curiously he didn't leave the room as many of the others did, he waited until the room was empty save the Malfoy's.

"Draco, Mrs Malfoy." Harry addressed them both as he came closer. "I have spoken to Kingsley, and we are both in agreeance that should there be a trial for the both of you I will be a witness." Draco was sure he was going to say something but Harry stopped him, "we were children who were forced to fight a war that started generations before us. We are not the sins of our fathers. Your family suffered, just as many others, and we need to put these prejudices in the past where they belong. It is time to move forward." Harry stuck out his hand, much like Draco remembered doing back in first year, minus all the sass. Draco lifted his palm and placed it in Harry's "Hello I am Harry Potter, pleased to meet you."

"Draco Malfoy," the words seemed stuck in his throat, "It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow wizard."

Harry laughed lightly, "I know times are difficult, but the end of the war is all about new beginnings. Friday a few of us are getting together for drinks at the Leaky, you should join us, standing invite." Draco laughed and dropped Potter's hand then nodded.

"I will think about it Potter," and he would, but he did not want to cause problems for the man who just spoke at his father's trial.

"Thank you Mr Potter," Narcissa smiled at the man in front of her, this was indeed a step in the right direction. "I would give you a standing invite for tea, however the manor is under construction and I haven't the energy to have guests at the small flat we are in until construction is done."

"I will accept the offer when it is ready, however I do have something to pass along to you." Potter reached into his robes and pulled out a letter. "Andromeda sends her regards, her owl was unable to pass through the manor wards, and none of us were aware that you were staying elsewhere, so she asked if I would deliver this personally." Narcissa reached out with a slightly shaking hand to accept the envelope and muttered a thank you before exiting the room. Draco watched his mother retreat and looked over at his one time rival. "Things will not be easy, even after the trials. Kingsley seems to be under the impression that life will be getting back to normal soon."

"On a first name basis with the Minister Potter? I feel as though I shouldn't be surprised." Draco smiled as Harry laughed and settled himself into the seat beside him.

"Kings and I go back a ways, we were in the Order of the Phoenix together, so yes." Harry leaned back in the uncomfortable seat. "And Harry, if you please. We are no longer school children." There was a smile to his features that made Draco relax. "I told him that the Ministry needs to be more open, more visible. Shifty and underhanded was the way Riddle wanted to do things, we need to move out of the fourth century and into the present."

"The Wizarding world could certainly benefit from that, among other things I am sure." Draco conceded, the rules and laws in the country were certainly outdated. "It is true that the prejudice needs to stop, now more than ever. I may have been quite bigoted in school and blinded by the teachings of my father, but I can see that the way that I treated those I deemed inferior was not the way." Hanging his head in shame he continued, "It is quite painful to be on the flip side of that coin and I wish I could go back and redo a lot of my life." Harry looked over quite shocked at the statement. There was a question lurking in the depths of his eyes, "Those of us in the Sacred Twenty Eight are now the ones that people have issue with, even those that never chose a side in the war." Draco sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "We are not all that welcome in society right now. Diagon alley doesn't want our business, at least not in person. Those of us with businesses are changing their names and pretending to get them purchased just so they can be shopped in. It is rather difficult for us to be making any kind of profits for our families in this environment."

A mop of shaggy black hair nodded in his direction, "Kingsley is under the impression that a few laws that are waiting in the wings will fix these things. " Harry folded his arms behind his head and looked over to him, "not sure what a few laws are going to do to fix that, but we will have to see. "

"Do you ever feel like a pawn on a chessboard Potter?" Draco asked after few moments of tense silence.

"I was a bishop once, but I understand what you mean." There didn't seem to be an ounce of sarcasm in the statement, so Draco looked over at him in question. "Remember our first year of Hogwarts?" Draco nodded slowly. "I had Hermione and Ron convinced that Professor Snape was after the philosopher's stone. We took it upon ourselves to stop him because we believed he was in league with Voldemort." There was a snort of derision here, and then a chuckle, "so we snuck past a three headed dog who liked music and down a trapdoor into some Devil's snare. From there, it was a room with a bunch of keys that we had to fly and chase down the correct key, and then there was a rather large Wizards Chess set. I was a bishop, Hermione a Rook, and Ron was a knight." at Draco's incredulous look Harry laughed, "we had to play through the game to get across the room to continue on."

"You actually... Potter, we both know that Snape was not Voldemort's man so who was it you were chasing?" Draco was rather into the story, it was not one he had heard.

"Quirrel, actually." Draco's eyes popped out of his head, and realized that he had always wondered what had happened to their stuttering, turban wearing, defense against the dark arts teacher. "You see a piece of Voldemort's soul was transferred to Quirrel when he was in Albania. Hence the odd smelling turban. That's why we got all those points and won the House cup for Gryffindor instead of Slytherin that year." Draco laughed then, "Ron may have played the game of chess, and I may have managed the flying but Hermione was the brains behind it all. She put the clues together for us and got us through the trials to get to the stone, the rest was pure luck."

"Brightest Witch of her Age." Draco mumbled as the room slowly started to fill back up. Harry straightened on the seat beside him and his mother slid in behind them. Draco stared intently at the door to the room where the Wizengamot had filed out. Try as he might, there was no reading the somber faces of the witches and wizard filing back into the room. The Minister for Magic was the last to file into the courtroom, and his face was as unreadable as the rest. The Minister made a motion and Lucius was brought back in, "Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, you are before the Wizengamot, accused of war crimes: including but not limited to: Sixteen counts of the use of an Unforgivable Curse, twelve counts of magical torture, sixteen counts of imprisonment via magical means, eleven counts of kidnapping at wand point, aiding and abetting a fugitive of the law, magic use in the presence of muggles, destruction of muggle property, failing to uphold the statute of secrecy, smuggling and hiding of dark artifacts, and aiding in a blood magic ceremony."

There was a silence in the crowd, and Kingsley looked over at Lucius, "however we have discovered evidence during the course of the trial that although your wand may have been the one to cast some of the spells, you were not. We have memories from both your son and that of Severus Snape showing that Tom Riddle took your wand and used it for other purposes. He had you confined to the house for most occasions, where your wand was used. Scattered bits of your wand were collected and it is obvious that after the attack on one Harry James Potter, before the eve of his seventeenth birthday, your wand was destroyed and you have not used magic since. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Minister." Lucius seemed surprised that he was asked anything at all.

"Well then Lucius, that changes some things does it not. The sixteen counts of an unforgivable, the twelve counts of torture, the sixteen counts imprisonment, and eleven counts of kidnapping at wand point are to be removed." There was a sharp inhale from the media section. "Lucius Malfoy was removed from Azkaban by Tom Riddle and very shortly there after, his wand was taken from him. Therefore he could not have committed the acts that he is being accused of, his wand yes, but not him. The Last six counts however," Kingsley paused and looked over a parchment in front of him. "The blood magic ceremony in which you were accused of participating in, we have evidence that shows you only came to the ceremony after it had occurred. Harry James potter shared an untampered with memory to the Wizengamot under the rule of Cornelius Fudge that was stored and seen during the proceedings of this trial. So that charge is also dropped. Smuggling of dark artifacts and then hiding them was a bit trickier of a subject. We became aware that you had indeed given a dark book to one Ginevra Weasley upon her entrance to Hogwarts. This is the only dark artifact that we have evidence of, since it was documented by the headmaster, the late Albus Dumbledore, as well as Harry Potter. This particular offense falls outside of the time constraints for the trial, we will take the evidence into consideration, however since you did spend time in Azkaban following that incident we can only convict you of crimes after that point, unless we are considering anything of a higher penalty crime. This does not fall into that category, so as we can consider the evidence, we cannot convict you of the charge."

Narcissa's hand found its way to Draco's shoulder and gripped it tighter as the Minister spoke. With each dropping count it seemed as though he was able to breathe a little lighter. "That leaves us with four counts : Aiding and Abetting a fugitive of the law, Magic use in the presence of muggles, destruction of muggle property, failing to uphold the statute of secrecy." Kingsley dropped another glance at his parchment. "With the removal of your wand we will remove three of these counts. You could not have been in the presence of muggles to use a wand that you did not have, therefore you did not break the statute of secrecy, and you could not have destroyed the bridge in London that you are being accused. To the count of Aiding and Abetting a known fugitive, the unfortunate circumstance that more than five known fugitives took residence in your home during your stay in undeniable. Taking into consideration you lack of wand and inability to properly notify the correct channels has led to your sentence here today." Kingsley sat in his chair and motioned for the forewoman to step forward.

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, with the consideration of all evidence and the fact that you have plead guilty to the offense you are being charged with, the Wizengamot hereby sentences you to ten years in Azkaban prison." The soft sob in his ear was the only noise that alerted Draco that his mother was still in the room, all his focus was on the court. "However there have been some provisions to this sentence, Minister?"

Kingsley stood again as the forewoman sat, "You have agreed to this court and the Ministry, that you will give any and all information, testimony, or memory, that may track down, imprison, or help convict any and all death eaters at large or in custody. Taking that into consideration along with all of the testimony that we have heard, the memories that this court has seen, and the willingness of your family to join in on the rebuilding efforts has led us to a special arrangement. You have been sentenced to ten years, however, we are increasingly changing how things are run at the prison and how we handle our criminals. You will have to serve a minimum of three years before you are brought before this court again for a reassessment. If, in the time that you are in Azkaban, you follow all rules and regulations, you give us the information we require, and are truthful in all endeavors, we will see about you serving out the rest of your sentence at home under Ministry monitoring." Lucius sagged in his chair slightly, "In one month's time some of the changes we are implementing at Azkaban will be in effect. At that time, there will be rooms for visitors, Ministry approved of course, so you can receive family visitors once or twice a month, dependent on behavior. Owls will be permitted after six months of good behavior, but will be monitored like everything else. This court is effectively dismissed. Mrs Malfoy, you and your son may stay for a few moments until the room clears for your good byes."

Harry glared at the reporters until they left and it was just them. "Good luck Draco, we hope to see you one of these Friday's?" His hand was extended, and for the second time in one day Draco shook it.

"I will see what I can do P... Harry, thank you, for everything," He felt his mother slip past him and rush to his father. "I was a git in school, I don't deserve your help, but I do thank you. If you ever need anything..."

"I didn't do it for your favor, I did it because it was the right thing to do. Your father was a right arse, but he was a prisoner in his own home. As were you. Even as a child you were taught the only way to do something was the way your father did it. It's time you were able to be your own person. Not all Slytherins are evil. You have a chance to do good things with the life you have left. Do that." Harry walked away and Draco looked over to his parents. The stark contrast between them now, and them before the war was vast. Before the war they were pristine, nary a hair out of place, now they are worn down and rough around the edges. Both of them were pale and thin, which was hard to witness for those that knew the Malfoys before the war.

"The Minister came down from the podium and motioned the aurors to watch the doors before turning and speaking to his father. "Life will not be easy for you, Mr Malfoy, but you need to earn your good standing are we clear?" Lucius nodded numbly. "We will take into consideration that you have a family and they will be able to visit you twice a month, once you have been stationed we will go over the details with you and your family. You have a few moments to say your goodbyes, and then the aurors will escort you." Narcissa waited until the Minister exited the room to hug her husband, Draco moved more slowly. The moment with his father was touching, but Draco felt removed, as if he could no longer feel emotions. He stepped up to his father and watched him speak in hushed tones to his mother. Soon enough he straightened and looked down at Draco. "Take care of your mother." His tone was clipped and strained.

"Once you are able to receive letters, we will start sending them Lucius." His mother's soft voice seemed to echo in the space, "stay safe." With a final hug from his mother, and a stiff pat on the shoulder for Draco, his father was shown out of the courts. The strained smile on his mothers face was enough to make him offer his arm and head out into the hall.

"Before you go," Minister Shacklebolt was in the hall waiting for them, "I want to let you both know we feel no need to formally charge you two with war crimes. If Lucius is gracious enough to complete his sentencing and the other small requirements, your names will be cleared. I do not have to remind you to watch your backs however. I would suggest that you both get into some social circles that would promote your good graces to the public?" The Minister's eyebrow rose as warmth blossomed on Draco's cheeks."I hope to see you here at the Ministry for your training in whichever field you choose Draco. I enjoyed seeing you here with Ms Granger. It would do you a world of good to help her on the project she is about to embark on. It is an excellent cause as well, for if not for children, we have no future. Would you not agree Mrs Malfoy?" Numbly his mother nodded. "Good, good. I shall owl you a few suggestions at a later date, and Draco, you will be receiving some items from both the Ministry and Hogwarts I would expect." Kingsley nodded to the Malfoys and walked off down the hall.

"We shall have to thank Mr Potter at some point in the future. For now…. the Minister is right, we need to put our name in a better light. It will be difficult, but not nearly as hard as things were before." His mother looked down the hall where the Minister had disappeared, "I will need your help with some things."

"Of course Mother." He replied as they walked back to the large fire places in the ministry Lobby. His mind on anything but his new duties; In fact they lie more with one brunette who had his undivided attention since third year.


	4. Diagon Alley

**Authors Note:**

 ** _I know that I have turned this into more manageable chunks for me and that they have been fluffed out rather drastically. I do apologize that it took me so long to get back to my stories but I am back and I am making progress... Not as much on Lost Princess, but my muse is escaping me there, I will get there._**

 ** _As always, I own nothing in the HP universe._**

Hermione had no knowledge that she was the center of Draco Malfoy's thoughts. Flourish and Blotts was such a vast place and she was not sure exactly what she was looking for, so she had purchased some second hand preliminary tomes to go through. There was a lot more information about the time period than she had originally planned on reading, but it was so fascinating. With each page that she turned she fell back in time and learned more and more about the world she called home. Each time she thought she was getting closer to an answer, fifteen more questions seemed to crop up. The stack of parchment that she had grabbed seemed to be shrinking as she wrote down her questions and the answers as she went. She was blowing hair out of her eyes for the umpteenth time when she heard Harry's voice from outside her door, "Hermione?"

"Harry? Come in!" She closed the book she was reading after placing in a scrap of parchment as a placeholder. "You are back early, " she said as she smiled up at him and he walked into the room and noticed her stack of parchment.

"Yeah, I had that thing at the Ministry this morning?" He looked sheepish as he spoke and she raised her eyebrow at him. "I agreed to testify at Lucius Malfoy's trial." Hermione's mouth opened and then closed, but Harry continued speaking, "I spoke to Kingsley and asked him to consider a little leniency on behalf of the Malfoys. If it wasn't for Narcissa and Draco I might not be here. He agreed to take that into consideration as long as I testified to what I knew, and if I brought some of Snape's memories with me to prove my point." He took a tentative seat on the edge of her bed, where there wasn't any papers, and looked over at her. "I heard that you spoke to Malfoy today."

"I…" Hermione bit her lip and took a breath before answering, "I saw him there yes. I ran into him actually, trying to find my way through the maze that is the Department of Mysteries." Both she and Harry chuckled at this, thinking back to the year they ran through the same maze of hallways. "He seemed very different from what I remember." She frowned thinking back to the moment she knew that was him, "what happened at the trial?"

"Lucius got time, of course," Hermione nodded knowing that was an inevitable outcome, "but I urged Kingsley to look at something Muggles do sometimes." Her eyebrow went up at this. She always seemed to forget that Harry was raised with Muggles. "They told him he has to serve at least five years before his case was looked at again and that he needs to prove himself. Kingsley is going to continue to work with him in regards to information on the inner workings of Riddle's circle, and then the Malfoy name needs to garner some good publicity."Shock was surely written on her face as Harry picked up one of the books and thumbed through a few pages. "Kingsley wants Draco and you to work closely together on a project, me too at some point." Something crossed his face, but she wasn't sure exactly what it was, "I think it will go a long way. The ministry is not going to press charges against Draco and Narcissa."

"You asked the Ministry to adopt a probation law?" Harry had said so much in just a few sentences, however she was still stuck on what he had done. "That's brilliant Harry. We need more muggle inclusion if we want to pass as muggles." Hermione watched as Harry nodded his head, and then stood to pace the length of the room. "I spoke with Kingsley for my interview, we discussed a few potential projects. I can see why he would want Malfoy to work with me, and to be quite honest it's probably one of the better projects he could be put on to up his name in the public eye. That is if it gets off the ground, but to be honest it is a great program." Her back was to him, but she could feel his eyes on her all the same.

"Mione I'm sure it's going to be great, and if and when you need me for it you will let me know right?" She nodded her head before turning around and seeing Harry rifling through her papers. "What is all this? Is this some kind of research for your project? Witches in the 17th century? Bit old for something that would be implemented now."

"Sort of, I saw Percy there at the ministry and he was speaking in a rather cryptic manner. I'm just trying to decode something. He said to send a letter to McGonagall asking permission to use the library at Hogwarts." Hermione shrugged and picked up one of the large tomes, "Percy seems to think something big is going to happen. Apparently I can find the clues to this big mystery some time within that of the Great Witch Hunts."

"Hermione, it's Percy. He can't really do secrecy."Harry looked over the top of his spectacles, "I mean do you remember the whole thing with Fudge?"

"Don't look at me like that Harry!" She laughed and sat down in her favorite chair, "he seemed rather worried about something. It was almost like he couldn't say too much." Her lip was feeling a bit bruised when she chomped down on it again in thought. "What department is he with again?"

"Magical Law Enforcement I think. Or a division of it." Harry seemed to ponder that question, "he never really said what his focus was, but yeah I am almost certain that it was Law Enforcement, or writing the laws." His eyebrows scrunched up. "Maybe it has something to do with a law. What did he tell you?"

"He said that I needed to look into the Great Witch Hunts and the direct aftermath. So perhaps laws that came directly as a result of that time period…"One of the books on the bottom of the yet unread pile caught her attention. "I picked up a few things from Flourish and Blotts, but I am not sure if they hold the answers I seek. I am going to have to write that letter and see if I can get access to Hogwarts. That is only if, of course, I cannot find what I am looking for here..." Her words trailed off as she got lost in thought, though Harry was still sitting there watching her. "Are you headed to the Weasley's then?" The words were out of her mouth when she finally came out of her daze and remembered her best friend was sitting there on her bed.

"Yeah, I…. I need to talk to Gin." A blush worked its way up Harry's features and Hermione hid a smile. "Did you want to come?" The look of utter sheepishness was the only thing stopping her from laughing and smacking him with something.

"No. You know why I can't." At this she sighed and rubbed her arms, "Not just yet." The words were soft, but she knew Harry could hear them. They had this conversation a time or two now, and they would again. "I did owl Mrs Weasley earlier, I'm sure she understands." She flashed Harry a shy smile, "send them my love would you?" Harry nodded as she got up from the chair and reached for her cloak. "I have a few things that I want to go pick up from Diagon Alley, and there was a shop in muggle London I wanted to pop in."The question in his eyes was answered and he nodded, then stepped out of the room and down the stairs. As she came down, she wrapped her arms around his middle and gave him a hug, "wish me luck!" Her smile was bright as she grabbed at the floo powder and called "Diagon Alley." Harry watched her drop the powder and disappear into the green flames.

"Always Hermione, you know that." Harry whispered into the empty living room and slumped down on the couch.

Hermione loved Diagon Alley, she always had. War was hard on the alley, as with everything else; buildings had been burned and broken, businesses closed, and very few people shopped, for fear of their life. Now that the war was over a year gone, things were slowly turning back to normal, and the alley was returning to its former glory. Her first stop was Gringotts, when she had come to Flourish and Blotts earlier she hadn't needed the stop, however her first jaunt into her favorite store had impacted her purse and she was in need of funds from her vault. The goblins were still quite leery of her, of course no one could blame them. She and her friends did break in, steal something from a vault that was not theirs, get a goblin killed, steal a dragon, and break back out again. Somethings were just harder to get over than others. Instead of taking the journey down, which the goblins did not like to do, she wasn't allowed anymore, she handed over her key and filled out a withdrawal slip. It was only a few moments before the requested coins were placed into a purse for her and she slipped them into her beloved beaded bag.

Thought it was May, the air held a coldness to it, a sense of foreboding perhaps that Hermione couldn't quite place. Thankful for her cloak, she headed down the alley and into her favorite shop: Flourish and Blotts. "Back again are we?" The innkeeper called with a smile once she was inside. Hermione couldn't help but return the gesture with a flush and went directly back to the history section with a wave. Having already been there looking, she knew that the materials she was there for this time were not going to be in the same place. With all the reading earlier, and with Harry's help, she believed that she was looking for a law book. Even having been coming into this shop since she was eleven, it was hard for her to navigate the store with the intention of finding books on law.

It hadn't been long before Hermione bumped into her second person that day. "Oh! Hermione! I didn't see you there. So sorry!" A quiet voice sounded under a precarious looking stack of books.

Hermione came around the side of the stack to see someone she recognized trying desperately to right the stack, "Susan? Susan Bones, my goodness it's good to see you." Helping the poor girl right the stack, she offered Susan a hand off of the floor.

"Agreed, it has been a while there hasn't it Hermione?" Susan's smile was infections as always, the Huufflepuff had always seemed to be in a great mood. Looking at her now, Hermione could clearly see that the girl had grown into herself. No longer the shy slip of a thing that she was in Hogwarts, but a beautiful woman with long brown tresses hanging well past her shoulders. "Doing some more research?" The question threw Hermione out of her musings and she flushed looking at the collection of books she seemed to amass in her arms.

"Ah,... a little" The possibility of her face getting any warmer was slim to none, unless of course a particular blond showed up and began walking around topless. _Where, in the name of Merlin, did that come from?_

" Anything I can help you find perchance?" The woman before her was looking over the titles in her hand, and gestured to the shop, "I do work here."

"Oh, brilliant." Hermione replied, "would you happen to have any 18 century law books?" She thought after a moment taking the chance that Susan _would_ know better than she, "I'm looking for some specifics but to be fair, I don't know _what_ specifically if you know what I mean." The brunette in front of her laughed and then Hermione thought about the project that she and Kingsley were speaking about. "Oh, and I will need to get together some books on what children need to know, or should know before they go to Hogwarts. Perhaps parenting books?"

"That's... peculiar, but yes, I believe we do carry those kinds of things." Susan paused to think, "now the parenting books are over there in the front corner by the window… until the new school books arrive of course, and then law…" The brunette turned and looked about the first floor quickly before her head turned up to the top of the shop, "yes...law books would be up here." Guiding Hermione around the stacks, Susan motioned her up the stairs. They weaved their way into the stacks and between book cases until they came to a section Hermione had yet to visit. "This would be law, they go in chronological order. Most of these texts are expensive, though perhaps if you found which one you are looking for you could go to a solicitor or a library to see if you could borrow it." Hermione's eyes looked over the books as Susan thought, "This is a rarely used section of the store and I know that no one would disturb you if you wanted to read a few to see if they were what you needed."

"Brilliant Susan!"Hermione glanced over the large books and worried her bruised bottom lip, "but the only library I know of would be the one in Hogwarts….."

"Oh!" The outburst of sound from the other woman made Hermione jump, "There are a few, I am rather surprised that you didn't know. They are notoriously hard to get into, you have to know the right people of course The Ministry has one," Susan said with a smile as she located the shelf Hermione was looking for. "The Unspeakables do plenty of research out of it. However, I think that your best bet would be to talk to a solicitor that has tomes from around that time."

"That is an amazing idea Susan!" She said as she ran her fingers over the spines of the tomes infront of her, "I never would have thought to go directly to a solicitor. I was worried about getting permission to use the Hogwarts library. Thank you," Susan smiled and went to turn around, "oh, Susan I try to get together with a group of people for tea or lunch once a week, I would love to have you yeah?" Susan nodded with a smile, "look for my owl then, and thanks for this!" Hermione watched the woman retreat down the stairs before she pulled one of the heavy books from the shelf and opened to the table of contents, searching for the particular years she needed. It took almost an hour and countless books before she came across a few that she could potentially use. There was not much, and she feared that she would most likely be better off going to see a solicitor for that particular problem.

Hermione stood and stretched her back to work out the kinks of sitting too long, and then began to right the mess that she had created. Once she was happy with the area she wandered back down the stairs to look into the section with the parenting books. The vast array of them was quite shocking, she knew that muggles had a large variety, but she was sure that with so much tradition in the wizarding world that there wouldn't be that many to choose from. Opting to only take a few of them she grabbed ones that seemed to encompass more of a general aspect of parenting a magical child and headed over to the desk to pay.

"We meet again Miss Granger," the cool feminine tones sounded behind her. Turning, she saw the petite form of one Narcissa Malfoy. "Finding you here is of no shock however, Draco has always mentioned that you are quite the clever witch." A smile graced her features lightly, but her eyes seemed to scan the shop continuously.

"He did?" There was no stopping the question and yet Hermione hated that she sounded so surprised. It was hard to believe that Malfoy would have spoken about any of her qualities, especially to his mother.

"Quite often I'm afraid." This time there seemed to be genuine affection, "he said he saw you often in the Library, or even just around the school grounds with a book." The matriarch's gaze seemed far away, but then seemed to come back to the present quite quickly after a hard thud was heard from somewhere in the shop. "You did beat him in scores, which is rather hard to do Miss Granger." The woman took a step closer as someone passed behind her and she looked down at the books in Hermione's hand. "Parenting books?"

"Oh!" Hermione blushed, "its for a project I am working on, trying to distinguish the basics that young wizards should know by certain ages. Its.. not for… er personal use." She hated being flustered, but this wasn't a conversation she thought she was going to have… especially not with Narcissa Malfoy.

Something sparkled in the older woman's eyes as she listened to Hermione. "What are you looking to know?" Narcissa gently guided Hermione over to a corner where no one could run into them, "I know that I may be the last mother on the planet that you would think of when it came to the welfare of children, but I have raised one. I am sure that you will find that each person has a different view on how to raise a child, but many of us have the same view on what to teach." There was a flush on her features as she spoke, realizing perhaps who she was speaking to, "I realize that my husband taught our son many things about hate and what he and his family perceived as right and wrong. My own family tried to instill the same hate in me." The smile she gave was strained, "but my father always said that females have a softer heart and that I was unteachable when it came to the less desirable parts of our world." Hermione could see Narcissa's knuckles turn white with strain as she clutched the book in her hands, "even if I could be of little assistance to you, I do know a governess or two that I am sure would love to help you in your endeavors."

"That… That would be most helpful." Curiously Hermione looked at the books in her hand and then back to Lady Malfoy. "Let me read through these, and then compile a list of questions? I can owl you and set up a meeting? Would that be fair?"

"Absolutely." Narcissa breathed the word. She seemed to shake her head, "send an owl at your convenience." As the woman began to turn from her, she reached out and took one of Hermione's hands, "I look forward to hearing from you." With a final nod she stepped past Hermione and into the thick of the bookstore.

Hermione walked away quite flustered, but turned back to the counter none the less to purchase the few books she had chosen. Her next stop was the Apothecary; there were quite a few items missing from her potions cupboard. The final stop in Diagon Alley was Madame Malkin's. Though she had plenty of robes, she wanted one or two robes appropriate for her upcoming training within the Ministry. Madame Malkin was able to steer her away from the dowdy robes she normally gravitated to and over to the slightly more adult section. With three new sets of work robes purchased, she bid adieu to the alley and apparated with a crack into a secluded spot in muggle London. Every once in a while it was nice to treat yourself, and it had been ages since Hermione had gone shopping for normal clothes.

Her eyes raked over the displays and mannequins in the windows, until she found a shop that seemed to call to her. Not one to normally choose a store that was so _flirty_ she opened the door and began to browse. Many things caught her eye, and with the help of a rather friendly clerk, she was able to get a slightly more adult wardrobe without making her wallet scream. Although she was sure that it cried when her fingers brushed those beautiful black boots, that she **did not buy** because she would never have an occasion to wear them. It was the first time in a long time that she was having **fun** while shopping. Waiting until she got to the apparition point to shrink her bags was a bit hard, but so worth it. Smiling, Hermione thought of Grimmauld place, and her nice warm room, before the sensation of apparition took her.


	5. Things that were never meant to be

**Authors Note:**

 _ **There is a lot of hate for people who do not ship Ron and Hermione, there is a lot of people who say hateful things when Ron is portrayed in anything but a golden glow. I have known proverbial golden boys to turn into something ugly, I have lived through people not turning out who I once thought they were. Fan fiction is just that, maybe there are people out there who were in an abusive relationship with a golden boy and they wrote Ron as such because they don't ship Ron with Hermione. Do not hate on that person, each one of us has different life**_ _ **experiences**_ _ **and deal with them in their own way. This chapter was beefed up a bit and put out there to try and show why I have written Ron the way he is, to explain my**_ _ **experiences**_ _ **. I read a story the other day and I was hurt by some of the comments I saw other members leave on the story because of the way that person wrote Ron. If you are reading this, I understand, if you wrote hateful messages, perhaps you can understand why. Maybe my optimistic Beta is rubbing off on me, but I kinda just want everyone happy.**_

 _ **As always I own nothing HP related.**_

* * *

Apparition was not her favorite mode of transportation , but it was better than getting her purchases dirty by using the floo network. After using a sly extension charm on her wardrobe, she put away her new clothes and the few accessories that she purchased and changed into something a bit more comfortable. The soft grey trousers and tank top that she purchased today were more comfortable than she cared to admit and they did look wonderful on. She grabbed one of the parenting books that she purchased, a bit of parchment, a self inking quill, and of course her wand, before descending the stairs. It was at the bottom of the stairs that she felt something was off, but couldn't readily place it. Only when she got to the living room did she know exactly what was wrong. Ron was sound asleep on the couch. Hermione wished that seeing him there wouldn't hurt as much as it did, but that was just how life was.

She watched his face, so serene in sleep. It was times like this that he reminded her of the boy she once knew. Knowing that when his eyes opened that condescending attitude would rear its ugly head and his need for attention overtook all his other good qualities. Hermione understood, in her own way, what was going on with Ron. It always felt good to be wanted to be sure, but _**she**_ never asked for fame and attention. Fame was a byproduct of the things she and her friends had done, it was never something that she sought. One day Ronald would grow up and realize his mistakes, realize that fame and money were not everything, but for now he was living for the notoriety. He was the last in a long line of children born to the Weasley family, and he lived in so many shadows with very little money. However to those that loved him, none of that mattered. It was Ron that mattered; his quick wit, his loyal friendship, his goofiness... but telling that to Ron made no difference. He wanted to **be** someone, never really realizing that he already was.

Hermione blew out a breath and walked into the kitchen noting that Kreacher had left out a jug of lemonade. She poured a glass and contemplated the tricky relationship she had with Ron. It was true they kissed during the final battle, and yes he had called her his girlfriend. Hermione had thought that it was the start of her dream; to fall in love young and live happily ever after with her best friend. However, it wasn't that long after the battle that she had watched all the fame that Ron craved go to his head. To be quite frank she was sure it was the girls. Other than her and Lavender Brown, Ron never garnered much female attention in school, and once he was regaled as a war hero it was almost as if a flip was switched. Ron had always been attractive to her, but suddenly he was Witch Weekly's most eligible bachelor ( _ **Bachelor! Can you believe that!**_ ) and women flocked to him enmasse. Quickly Ron morphed from the fun and lovable man she had come to love into... someone else entirely.

If only things were simple and as cut and dry as some wished. Nothing is ever really that cookie cutter now is it? Sitting down on the bench seat, Hermione closed her eyes and put her head on the cool surface. ' _Maybe he isn't here to see me. Harry wouldn't have told him where I was. Perhaps he is waiting for Harry,'_ a humorless breath escaped her lips. ' _Right, when have things quite gone in my favor that way. I should just excuse myself to my room and lock myself in…'_

"Ron? What in blazes are you doing here?" She heard Harry's voice come from the living room, cutting her contemplation short. He was back and not expecting Ron, of course. "Ron I told you…."

"I know what you bloody well told me mate. I needed…" Ron sounded moody and slightly drunk. "I had to come. I needed to see her." His words were slightly slurring together and getting louder. "She just….. it's not right you know. Just up and' left, 'snot fair. No time to explain, no explanations 'arry!"

"She did give you explanations Ron, I was there." Harry's sigh was dramatic and seemed to come out through clenched teeth.

"No she didn't." Ron snorted at him, she could see him throwing his hands up into the air and then one hand on his hip. "' _you aren't who i thought you were'_ is not a bloody explanation!" Something hit the floor and there was a beat of tense silence before a muffled, "I loved her."

"Loved her? Ron, you didn't treat her that way, you never told her did you?" Harry raised his voice and then she heard someone sit down. "You treated her like she was your sidekick not your partner. You wanted recognition, she wanted anonymity." All the fight was slowly seeping out of Harry, and his voice was dropping. "You pushed her into the limelight more times than she was comfortable with. Ron you _Snogged_ any witch that fell at your feet _except Hermione_." Hermione left the kitchen to get closer to the living room.

"She never threw herself at me."Ron sounded like a petulant child. "How was I supposed to know how she felt?" Those words were the catalyst for her anger. Stepping over the threshold into the living room she eyed the scene. Ron was sitting on the sofa and harry was in an armchair by the floo.

"You could have asked Ronald." Her tone was icy and both men jumped, "you never did care very much what I thought about anything, let alone how I felt. You want everything all at once, and want none of the responsibilities of being in a real relationship." She eyed both men curiously watching their expressions, Harry seemed to want to disappear and Ron's face was turning a bit blotchy. "You are childish, indecisive, and enamored with more females than I care to count. You need to straighten out _your_ priorities Ronald." There was a slight chuckle from Harry as she rounded the couch to stand directly in front of the floo. "Yes, I left you because you were incapable of committing to something that was real for more than ten moments at a time. I left you, Ronald, because you were not who I thought you were; you were no longer the man that I had fallen in love with." Tears that she promised her self wouldn't fall again threatened to escape from her eyes. "Frankly I will not waste anymore time on someone who doesn't deserve me and my attentions."

Hermione watched as the words hit Ron, and squashed that little bit of guilt nagging at her, "I played your games Ronald. They left a bitter taste in my mouth. My head was in the clouds, clinging to a childish delusion that I would fall in love with one of my best friends and we would stick to each other through thick and thin. My dreams of being some sort of fairy tale were bitterly thrown in my face the moment you went after another girl _right in front of me_. Simply because she knew that you helped Harry Potter." The words were ripped out of her mouth and she was positive she had never said her best friends name with such distaste as she did in that moment. Her heart was beating powerfully in her chest and she wanted nothing more than to escape to the safety of her room.

" Mione, you know it's not like that. I care about you!" He tried to rebut, and even tried getting up off the couch. The efforts failed miserably but he continued, "is this because I didn't ask you to marry me at the Ministry party?" Ron had the decency to look sheepish, but Hermione saw red.

"No Ronald." It was too little to late on that score, but the anger that bubbled out of her came out in her words. She fought with herself, Ron had been drinking and it was not the time for anger. Hermione was tired of the anger, of the pain, so she closed her eyes and took a breath. "I don't want you to ask me to marry you. I want you to ask that of someone you truly care for; one you can't live without." The sudden chill that she felt made her want to wrap her arms around herself. "Obviously I was not your choice. If you will excuse me Harry,I am not feeling so well and I would like to get some rest. Good night." How she was able to walk up the steps with her head held high and no tears she didn't know. She closed her door with a finality and murmured a _mufflato_ to keep her voice from the boys downstairs.

Hermione Jean Granger, the brightest witch of her age, sat down in her chair and stared off into the night sky out of her little window. Just a few years ago her life seemed rather set. Yes there was the constant threat of evil, but at the same time…. she felt…. whole. Now with things standing the way they are…. she wasn't sure where she stood anymore to be quite frank, and that bothered her. All of her daydreams about her future were just that. It bothered her more than she cared to admit that her life hadn't played out quite like the fairy tale she had envisioned. Grabbing a pillow around the middle, she thought back to those days where everything seemed laid out before her. ' _It's just a dream Hermione. Pull yourself together. It's time to make your own future.'_ She focused her mind and put it back onto the task at hand. She had time for tears later, right now she had a few books to read.


	6. The Cleverness of Theo Nott

~~6

 **Author's Note:**

 _ **I started this with absolutely no intentions of putting this up for the public, it was going to just be a thing for me. I'm glad I put it out there, oddly enough all the reviews are the same, and I do hope that I don't disappoint. This had a theme I was rolling with when it first got underway but as I wrote it I realized that it started to take on a life of its own, and that my narrow minded view on a particular topic was…. well not very good. So I expanded the horizons a bit and… so far I am pleased with how things are rolling onward. So thank you for reviewing and for reading. See you on the next one.**_

* * *

Days after the incident with Ron she felt that she had a hold on the project that her and Kingsley discussed. There was a list of questions that she had prepared, and a quick first draft of a proposition to create a school in the scope of what they were thinking. With that particular train in motion, Hermione sat in the library underneath the ministry. She had an appointment with one Theodore Nott, courtesy of Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. It had come as a shock as Hermione had been writing back and forth to the Minister about some snippets of the project she was coming to dead ends on. He had suggested that perhaps she speak to a solicitor about any loopholes that could be found to perhaps help fund the project, or at least aspects of the project. When she had mentioned that she did not know any wizarding solicitors, Kingsley had set her up an appointment.

Theodore Nott found Hermione just a few moments after she had arrived, however he took a moment to watch the witch who saved the wizarding world. Theo remembered Hermione from school, he was in quite a few of her classes, not that she would remember. Theo was very much looked over, even being in the top three in all his classes, coming in just points below Granger and Malfoy. Perhaps it was foolish to think that maybe in another life he and Hermione could have been friends. His father had beaten pureblood mania into him at a young age, but he also knew his father was a mad man. Being only a boy didn't stop his father from doing heinous things in front of him, and pushing his mother unto her most untimely death. The Gryffindor bookworm was running her fingers over tomes of laws that were centuries old and he figured that he should step in and offer the assistance that the Minister had promised. As he closed in on her riotous curls, he could hear her muttering under her breath.

"You always were one to get lost in your books," he smiled at her slight jump and walked closer to her holding out his hand. "Theodore Nott at your service." Delighted, Hermione shook his hand. "Most of these dusty tomes haven't been cracked in ages!"

Hermione was surprised by the soft timbre of his voice, it was much more reserved than she thought it might be. "Ah... yes, I believe that I am looking for something that deals with laws from a rather long time ago." She let him lead the way over to some tables where they could chat.

"Really? I was under the impression that you were looking for something in the realm of family law, regarding orphans and muggle borns?" He rubbed at his chin and summoned a piece of parchment and a quill.

"There is something that the Minister and I were discussing that I needed to speak to a solicitor about, however I do have a side project." Hermione shot him a shy smile, "that project is the one where I have questions about the 18th century." Nott nodded and motioned her to continue, "I bumped into a ministry official, and he mentioned that I should look into what happened in this country around the time of the Witch Hunts."

"A ministry official?" He rubbed his chin in thought, "Percy Weasley?" When Hermione blushed and nodded he smiled. "You have known affiliation with the Weasley clan, and since you needed a solicitor to look at law it was a safe bet that it was in fact the younger Weasley. Percy does work in Magical Law. I was not third in my class because of my pretty looks now Granger."

"Hermione please, and yes it was Percy. He mentioned that there were some laws enacted around the time after the Witch Hunts that would be rather imperative for me to know in the coming month?" Blowing out a frustrated breath Hermione looked over to Nott, "I know it is not much to go on, but it seemed frustratingly like there was something he was almost desperate for me to know."

"Alright, lets think on this a moment," Not leaned back in his seat, "What do you know about the time of the witch hunts?"

"A great many people were persecuted, weather they were actually magical beings or not." Nott nodded and started to write something down on a piece of parchment he pulled out of nowhere. "The time period we are looking at is somewhere in the 1560's to the 1630's, that is when the majority of the "trials" ended." Again Nott scribbled away, "And the Muggles passed a law in 1735 I believe dealing with Witches? So perhaps something in the law books around that time is what we are looking for, something related to that law perhaps?"

"That's a good start, thousands of people died in that time, both Muggle and Magical. The statue of secrecy was signed shortly there after." Theodore motioned with his wand and a few books came levitating out of the stacks of books around them. "I think we should start between the time the hunts ended and the muggles signed that law, we will brush over the statute of secrecy, obviously but we can assume its not that one. Muggles were unprepared for the little magic that we did in front of them years ago, and its not likely that they would be ready now."

Hermione nodded and they go to work. There were a few tomes, and as they picked their way through them, they both jotted down anything that caught their eye. A soft curse came from Nott as they were rounding out one of the last books from the first round. "I was unaware of this one, they actually passed a law allowing to just drop squibs in the muggle world, though this is the first mention of squibs I have come across at all."

"I mean its not very far fetched is it?" Nott looked up over his book at her with raised eyebrows, "I mean in pureblood circles having a squib as a child is not a good thing." Something slithered past his eyes and she felt something squeeze her heart, "Most of the families I have come across have never wanted anyone to know them as less than perfect, having a child that can't do magic must have been a crushing blow, they needed to figure out some way to... sweep that under the rug." Her eyes glazed over as she thought, "However seeing as how there was no real mention of squibs thus far, there must have been a real problem that year..."

Nott watched her bite her lip and her eyes glaze over in thought, "What is it?"

"I wonder is there somewhere that they keep old versions of the Prophet and other publications? We have archives in the Muggle world where we can look back at our old papers to learn things, perhaps there is something in the papers that would tell us why this law was passed?" Hermione huffed again, "I doubt that is the law Percy was warning me about however, so perhaps it's pointless to look into it?"

"Go with your gut Granger, it saved you and your cohorts a lot that last year of the war, don't let it stop you now." She smiled and sat back in her chair, "I think that there is an archive here in the Department of mysteries, let's take a walk shall we?"

Hermione was stunned as he offered her his arm and began to escort her through the obsidian halls of the department of Mysteries. "How is it you came to be here in department of Mysteries Nott?"

"Theo, if you please, but my father." He puffed out a breath, seeming to look for the right words, "My father owned a few law firms whilst I was growing up and I need to take up his mantle with him in Azkaban." Hermione's grip on his arm tightened and he gave her a sad smile, "I think that with the work I do here in the DOM and the schooling I am looking to do I should be able to get the accreditation that I need to take his place in the businesses. Though taking over his mantle of anger and hate against the muggles is not something that I will be doing. I saw too many of my friends and classmates die to know that everyone's blood looks the same when its spilled at the feet of a mad man."

Hermione was quiet for a moment as she let his words wash over her, "You know my grandfather used to tell these stories, before the pox took him, about things his grandafther lived through during that time. 60,000 people died, or so they say more than half of them were magically inclined. That is when people really turned away from the muggles and lots of horror stories were born from that era. The muggles became the things that went bump in the night and were used to scare young pureblood children into behaving. Its where a lot of pureblood ideology started to really come through." She nodded as she continued to flip through the book in her hands looking for anything really that struck her, and she found it.

"You know I believe it was around that time that a betrothal contracts became super popular... what is it? Granger, you look like you've seen a ghost." Nott stood and walked around the table to glance at the page she had stopped on, "Merlin no..." He slumped down into the chair beside her, "I had heard stories that the population took a hit, people were too afraid to have children with all the death and destruction. The Wizengamot began looking for solutions and began adding more members to their ranks. Pureblood Aristocracy was always there, but they could not come up with anything viable, Half Blood houses began coming into the negotiations with the muggles and trying to come up with a solution to stop the blood shed."

Nott looked a bit squeamish and scratched the back of his neck, "I have never fallen in line with my father's ideologies, mind you, but this was something I knew about because my family has come from a long line of Purebloods. I remember the stories clearly, but this was never mentioned. Nothing like this." He put his head in his hands and sighed.

"This came about near the end of the hunts, around the time they decided on the statute of secrecy, it was a rebuilding stage... much like now. We had major losses in the wizarding world, we never truly recovered from the hunts, but we managed to make due. This... this must have been what Percy was trying to warn me about." Hermione bit her lip and began to copy things down on her paper... something about the wording of this made no sense. It was not worded like any law she knew, and she had read quite a few of them today, and it bothered her. There was indeed some more research in her future.

"You don't think this is what he was talking about do you? I mean... They can't come up with a law that forces people to marry ca they? In this day and age, after all we have been through?" He stood and paced a little turning in tight circles.

"No they couldn't do it like this, there would be no way that the populous would agree this was the way to go." Hermione closed the book after copying the wording down, "There is no way it would be written up like this, the wording here is unlike any wording I had seen previous in a law, and this is all archaic. Even with Purebloods still heading up the Wizengamot there is no way something like this would be passed." She chewed on her lip and thought back to the conversation with Percy. "He said that there was … some kind of programmes and made a face... that must be it, they are implementing this law into some kind of programmes so that people won't look too closely! I had falsely assumed at the time that he was talking about the training ones here at the ministry..."

"Programmes hm?" Nott turned to face her, "I think there was some talk about St Mungos opening up some new ones as well, they consulted with my father's firm a few months back about something..." He shrugged, "I am not yet privy to the inner workings until I am accredited, so I can know some who's but no what's right now. Though that begs the question, what on earth would they be implementing programmes there for if this is some sort of archaic wizarding law?"

Hermione tried frantically to search her brain for something that would make this theory of hers more plausible... "Perhaps they were looking for some sort of sympathetic or healing magic that would work in the favor of a law such as that? Have you ever heard anything like that?" The Slytherin in front of her shook his head and slouched down onto the chair nearest him. "I guess then it is time for more research."

"Research? Care for a partner?" He looked up at her standing over him and watched some emotions cross her face. "I mean I am here most days and I have free reign of reference material here and my own personal library. I am sure with our brains we could potentially figure out what all of this means."

"Do you think you could handle working with me Nott?" Hermione smiled down at him impishly.

"Theo please," he stuck out his hand, "I mean if we are going to be working together to figure this out we should be on a first name basis. It would get awfully tiring to hear you call me Nott all the time." She smiled and put her hand in his, "Fantastic, here." He pulled out two sheets of parchment and murmured some spells. "This will let us communicate from anywhere. Once we get to the bottom, just flick your wand over it and it will clear itself so that we can start with a blank page." He handed one to her and tucked the other one in his robes. "For now, there are medical texts over in the far right there," he pointed out and then stood. "I am going to go pull a few law books relating to marriage vows and bindings, perhaps there is something there that can guide us."

Hermione smiled and headed off in search of some texts that might help her make sense of all this madness. Healing magic was one thing, but sympathetic magic, she hadn't dealt enough with those kinds of things. What Harry's mother did for him, her sacrifice, it fell into that category, but there was not much literature dedicated to the study of it. Sympathetic magics seemed to be passed down from generation to generation, and a lot of it falling through the cracks as time passed. Perhaps there was some family magic books that she could get her hands on? Harry lived in a Black family ancestral home, perhaps Kreature would know if there was such a book in the house to help her search? She shook herself and began looking for medical texts related to marriage, childbirth, fertility, and anything she could think of that related to sympathetic magic.

It had been a few weeks since Theo Nott and Hermione began research into the law and they were still as frustrated as they had been before they had started. Hermione was sure that this was the law Percy was so concerned with, however she couldn't figure out how the law could transfer over to any kind of program. Theo was sitting in the bowels of the DOM with her when he looked up "What if we can't find what we are looking for because this isn't what he wanted you to find? I mean there were plenty of other obscure laws that came out around that time period, perhaps it was something else?" She looked up over the table at him and bit her lip in thought before shaking her head. "Your right," he grumbled, "the marriage thing is the only law that looks like it would pertain to anything going on today. I mean it all fits. The people are shaken, they have been fearful the last handful of years and not wanting to conceive, plus the ones that were most affected being in the war were the teenagers. The ones that are supposed to be settling down and starting on broods of their own, but there is none of that..."

He ran a pale hand through his hair, "did you know that there has not been a single wedding filed in the ministry since the ending of our fourth year save the Weasley wedding? People have been too afraid, and the birth rate is almost as abysmally low. This is the only law that could make any sense." Closing his latest book, he leaned back in his chair and sighed. "On another note, I did look into the ways that we could fund a project of the size and magnitude that you were looking into, although there are a few bumps in the road. I know that the Minister wanted you to work with the Malfoy's on the project, which will help smooth out a few. You have my backing as well, the Nott family may not have been as big into political agendas as the Malfoy's but we have a wealth and knowledge all our own. I would suggest reaching out to other Pureblood families as well, perhaps the Greengrass, the Parkinson, and Zambini families to name a few in the coming months. If you want to get the ball rolling of course. Have you set a date to speak to Lady Malfoy?"

She hadn't yet, she had sent an owl to the Matriarch and asked her for a time table, but she had not received a reply. "No, I sent her an owl and I have gotten no response." Hermione closed her book and sighed, "from either of the Malfoy's."

"Draco hasn't even responded? Odd... Well he doesn't like to stay in the manor much after what happened, and his mother was working on some sort of construction plans for the manor. Perhaps she is away? In any case, they will respond when they are able. Have you started on the Owl programme for McGonagall?"

Hermione nodded and smiled, "Yes, I can take as many classes as I want through the programme! I am waiting to hear more from the Ministry, but I suppose that is going to be a few weeks yet. They had pushed back the training start dates by another month and a half, apparently some of the requirements were... well there is a doctors exam that is needed and a few other things that took more time than the ministry anticipated, so they had to push it back for the applicants to get all the information that was required."

"That is what I heard as well, you don't think that the Ministry postponed it because of this? They needed to get their own ducks in order and it was the perfect cover?" Silence grew between them for a moment, "Hold on a tick, you said there was an exam needed? Do you have a copy of your exam that you sent in?"

"That is personal Theo!" Hermione blushed but nodded all the same, pulling it out and setting it on the table.

"Well, tell me what they went over, I don't want your results!" He laughed and leaned his head onto his hand to watch her.

"They checked blood status, it looks like they typed it too, like muggles do. Basic information height and weight, eye and hair color, age... I had to have a full body exam, they checked for curses and injuries, documented scars..." She nibbled on her lip, "They did a women's exam too..."

"They didn't even take you to dinner first, what a shame." He laughed at her blush, "you said that they checked for curses?"

"Yes, I was hit with a curse here in the DOM in my fifth year, Dolohov..." Theo nodded solemly and thought in silence. "You know it was odd, when they checked, it was a rather warm feeling compared to the cold ones you normally feel when they are checking for curses... "

"Checking for curses should feel cold, like you are being pulled through cold water, that is curious. Wait... we were thinking some sort of sympathetic magic right? There is something I remember form my child hood, a charm that parents used to practice on infants. There was a note in my mother's journal that she wanted the charm done on me, it was supposed to be able to find ones soul mate." Theo sat straight up in his chair, "What if that's it? They are going to pawn this off as if they are finding us our perfect mates?"

"Come on Nott, that is a little far fetched don't you think? I mean it could have just been a medical professional casting a charm on me for medical reasons as opposed to an auror. There is no charm that can find someone their soul mate." She tried to laugh it off, she really did, but the thought stuck with her. "Bedsides, only people going into these programmes would be the ones that are going to be checked. In order for this to work on the entire magical population they would have to do that test for everyone. This exam was to get into the ministry training programme. I am sure it was comprehensive due to some of the places we get to work, perhaps the aurors office, or something that we have to be around certain creatures. That test could have been for anything and not a soul mate... thing..."

"Come on Granger, what does your gut tell you? Hasn't it kept you alive a time or two?" He was looking up at her now and her stomach clenched as she thought about just what her gut was telling her. "I thought so... "


End file.
